How many steps to the top of Taipei 101?

The stairwell opens once a year for the Taipei 101 Run Up, an international stair-climbing championship event; the rest of the time visitors take the lift, which reaches the 89th floor in 37 seconds and was the fastest in the world when it opened. The 2,046 steps are to the 91st floor. The building's 660-tonne tuned mass damper hangs between floors 87 and 92 and is visible from the stairs near the top. Race times for the top finishers are around ten and a half minutes.

The numbers

Steps

2,046

Reaches

the 91st-floor outdoor observatory

Public access

Restricted — events or permit only

Where

Taipei, Taiwan

Height climbed

391 m — 1,283 ft

Average rise per step

191 mm

What the climb is like

Annual race only, usually in spring. Entry by registration; the field is a few thousand.

These steps are not open on an ordinary visit. Access is limited to organised events, races or permit holders.

Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.

How it compares