The very heart of New York
Updated: 2013-04-29 07:56
By Xu Lin (China Daily)
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Some say you've never seen New York unless you've been to this landmark. Raphael E. Paez / for China Daily
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Exhibits of window flowers are on display at the Empire State Building to celebrate Chinese New Year. Photos Provided to China Daily
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Chinese paper-cut artwork is on show at the iconic building.
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The Empire State Building is an icon and a must-see for all first-time visitors to New York City, as Xu Lin reports.
The Empire State Building, in New York City, is arguably the most romantic place in the city and it must be absolutely breathtaking to meet one's lover way up on top of it, as Meg Ryan did in the classic movie Sleepless in Seattle, especially on Valentine's Day. And, Jean-Yves Ghazi, director of the building's observatory, says he couldn't agree more. "People propose (marriage) all the time on the deck. When they get a view of the city late at night, the males just naturally pop the question," explains Ghazi, who was in Beijing recently for the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market.
And, although observatory staff members do not handle wedding ceremonies, Ghazi says he witnessed a small wedding ceremony once, where the couple exchanged vows and kissed each other, with several friends and a photographer on hand.
The Empire State Building has been one of the city's must-see attractions for a long time and has appeared in countless movies. It provides an unparalleled 360-degree view of the city and its environs, both in daylight and at night, with two observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floor.
As a result, it receives more than 4 million visitors from all over the world every year.
Ghazi has been coming to China every year, for five years, to cultivate relations with the Chinese and possible visitors to New York City and has by now partnered with more than 59 Chinese companies in big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
In fact, he says that his building receives more than 200,000 Chinese visitors annually, and that figure is growing by 20 to 30 percent every year.
He estimates that, as the visa process becomes easier, that growth will be even bigger - perhaps 50 or 60 percent - because many Chinese dream of visiting New York.
He notes that, "We find that there's a new generation of Chinese travelers coming to New York, who are younger, more independent, and are used to the Internet and electronic transactions a lot more. We believe that generation will really help boost the number."
To enhance the Chinese tourist experience, the building has come up with some special services to offer them. For example, the building offers visitors an iPod touch to get an audio-visual presentation of the landmark and a view of New York City and beyond, with its iView Tour program.
If they enter the number of the particular image they're looking at, they can get an explanation of the view in Mandarin and some pretty scenic photos.
For first-time Chinese visitors, Ghazi recommends that, when they get to New York and the jetlag is so bad that they get up very early in the morning, they can visit the building at that time, since there are no long queues.
The building also celebrates the Lunar New Year every year and, to observe the Year of the Snake this past February, they held a big light ceremony, with the entire building bathed in red and gold to signify health and prosperity for the Chinese. The lobby also held Chinese exhibits, such as folk culture and Chinese tradition for the Spring Festival.
"With LED programming, we can use the computer to produce millions of special effects," Ghazi continues.
The shining lights are really spectacular, among all the hustle-and-bustle of New York at night, and they're not for any other commercial use, just for celebrating particular events and special lighting ceremonies. They are pure white when there's no special event.
One example was when the LED lights were used in blue and red to track the results of the 2012 US presidential election and signify President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's electoral votes.
But, the building is not just an iconic attraction for tourists representing the history of New York City. It's also an example of energy efficiency and sustainability, thanks to improvements and a sustainability retrofit that allow it to cut energy consumption by more than 30 percent and save $4.40 million every year in energy costs.
There was refurbishing work on its 6,514 windows and they were filled with a mixture of gases for insulation to make them up to four times more efficient at keeping the heat and air conditioning inside.
As was stated above, movies have been a part of the building, and many people who haven't visited it, still get to know it from famous Hollywood offerings.
It has put in an appearance in more than 50 movies, perhaps the most recent one being Tom Cruise's sci-fi movie Oblivion, which premiered in the US, in April.
Another is the Chinese comedy Finding Mr. Right, which raked in about 500 million yuan ($80.90 million) since its premiere in mainland theaters, on March 21. It ends with the lead characters, Tang Wei and Wu Xiubo, having an unexpected - and romantic - reunion on the deck of the Empire State Building.
"I like that movie," Ghazi enthuses. "I was there during the shooting. It was fun."
He explains that New Yorkers have a certain sense of honor, when it comes to the Empire State Building and feel that it belongs there, a part of the city and they love it, but tend not to visit it during peak seasons.
"Unless you see New York from the top of the Empire State Building," he concludes. "You just haven't seen New York."
Contact the writer at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn.
(China Daily 04/29/2013 page10)
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