SHANGHAI – November 06, 2026 -- Otis holds the Guinness World Records title for "Tallest Elevator in a Building" after two of its SkyRise elevators at Tianjin 117 in China reached a rise of 597.2 meters. The company is the sole elevator and escalator provider for the 117-story supertall tower and is supplying 266 units.
Otis supplies all 266 elevators and escalators for the tower
The scope covers SkyRise and Gen3 elevators, Otis Link commercial escalators and heavy-duty Public Escalators. More than 200 Otis specialists have worked on the project, which runs on an expedited construction schedule. Tianjin 117 is due for completion by the end of 2027.
Sally Loh, President of Otis Greater China, said "extraordinarily tall buildings depend on extraordinary vertical transportation."
Tianjin 117 hosts the most Otis double-deck elevators in any building
Otis is installing 50 SkyRise double-deck elevators and three SkyRise super-double-deck elevators. The three super-double-deck units will travel at up to 10 meters per second with a rise of 463 meters, making them the fastest and highest-rise Otis super-double-deck elevators in the world. Two of the double-deck units will reach 12 meters per second, the fastest in the Otis portfolio.
Double-deck elevators stack two cabs in one hoistway, so a single elevator serves adjacent floors and the elevator core takes up less space. Super-double-deck units can vary the distance between the two cabs to match different floor heights.
Council on Vertical Urbanism certified the elevators and the building's height record
The Guinness title closely follows certification from the Council on Vertical Urbanism that Tianjin 117's elevators will be the world's tallest. The council also certified that the tower will have the highest occupied floor in China.
SkyRise cabs use wind-tunnel-tested design and regenerative drives
The sound-insulated cabs rely on aerodynamic design, computational fluid dynamics simulation and wind-tunnel testing to limit wind noise and manage air-pressure effects at high speed. Otis SkyMotion machines, controllers and ultra-high-strength steel ropes handle the forces of moving large loads at supertall speeds. Otis ReGen drive technology recovers braking energy and returns it to the building's power grid.
The Otis Panorama 3 elevator management system and the Otis ONE connected service solution provide real-time monitoring, passenger-flow management and data-driven proactive maintenance.
Judy Marks, Otis Chair, CEO & President, visited the building during construction.