Mapping Shanghai with Sim City 2000

[click the image to see at full size]

Well, it's not really Sim City 2000 - but the map's axonometric vantage point and beautiful pixel art graphics are certainly reminiscent of the game I spent far too much time playing as a kid.

Our good friends at Worrell, Inc linked to this interactive map of Shanghai via their new office there. Here's what Pete had to say:

Someone told me there are 4,000 buildings over 25 stories tall here with 1,000 more scheduled to be built in the next few years. To put that in perspective, New York has 2,000.

4,000 buildings over 25 stories tall... here's what that actually looks like: [See Update below.]


[image by pmorgan]

The map takes on a whole new life once you realize that buildings are really quite accurately modeled. For example, here's a stunning shot of the landmark Oriental Pearl Tower in the Pudong district of Shanghai:


[image by Franck]

And it's pixel art representation in the map:



Pretty cool!

Finally, it was a real treat to find examples of the traditional Shikumen style of building I've previously covered at BLYGAD. You can really get a sense for how out of scale they are with the rest of the city when seen in context like this. Like a cartological Where's Waldo, can you find Shanghai's Shikumen?

Links
Edushi Map of Shanghai
Friday Photography | Shanghai's Shikumen

Updates
It turns out Pete might have gotten some bad info. Emporis tells us that New York City has 5592 buildings over 12 stories while Shanghai has only 946. Thanks Bronson!