THE top of the 420.5-metre-high Jinmao Tower is a prohibited area to ordinary people for everyone knows that anyone gets careless at that height, it can have only one result.

　　But on August 27, a Norwegian man not only went to the 88th floor, the top storey, to enjoy the beautiful panorama across Pudong and Puxi, but he was allowed to go to the P2 level above and even to climb out the window for literally a bird's eye view.

　　He is Terje Halvorsen, 35, a "high-building" parachutist from Norway's Parachute Association who has parachuted hundreds of times from high-rise buildings.

　　He has been invited by the Shanghai Sports Bureau and the Jinmao group to jump from the top of the Jinmao Tower on October 5 with some 20 parachutists from around the world.

　　Halvorsen carefully explored the jump-off area and took repeated wind speed measurements. When he wanted to stay longer at the top, the safety guard of the Jinmao Tower declined saying it was "too dangerous".

　　Halvorsen expressed his satisfactory with the location for the mass jump. "It completely meets the demands of high-building parachuting," he said.

　　"Actually, I have waited for years to be part of 'China's first high-rise jump', so I don't mind waiting for another few weeks," he said.

　　It has been a dream of his to jump from China's highest skyscraper since it was built.

　　In 1998, when the Jinmao Tower was still under construction, Halvorsen and his pals visited the high-rise. They expressed a wish to do a parachute jump from the tower then but were not allowed.

　　In the following years, he kept in touch with Jinmao Tower staff through an intermediary. Because Shanghai was involved in so many other international activities, his parachute jump proposal was not accepted.

　　Performances in sky

　　However, this year the Shanghai Sports Bureau gave the parachutists the green light.

　　The parachute jumps are set to start at 2:00pm on October 5. First, six colourful balloons will ascend about 30 metres in the air.

　　Then the parachutists from Norway, the US, France, Britain and elsewhere will begin performances in the sky of single-jumping, double-jumping and jumping with fireworks. The human aerial display will last about one hour.

　　The organizers hope the parachutists will be able to jump from the western wall of the Jinmao as it faces the Huangpu River and will give crowds along the Bund a better view. "But it all depends on the wind direction on the day in the end," said Chen Changqi, an official with Jinmao group.

　　The landing destination is the big area of grassland under the Jinmao. Given that all the parachutists have international licences and are skilled at their sport, they do not think it will be too difficult to land on the grass.

　　Risky games

　　But as Halvorsen said, the challenge for high-building jumping is to open the parachute successfully during the jump. "I estimate that I will spend half a minute in the sky in the jump," he said.

　　Parachutists jumping from a plane have more leeway in opening their parachutes. High-rise parachutists have only 0.02 seconds to open.

　　And it is said some sportsmen, to show their skill in free-falling, open their parachutes as late as possible.

　　Experts said the Jinmao Tower was an excellent location for high-rise parachuting because the tower's walls are straight, making it easier for jumpers to avoid being dashed against it.

　　According to insiders, high-rise parachutists have three things to think about in their jump.

　　First, to watch for the unexpected. Second, the right moment and place to jump. Last, but not least, the right time to open the parachute.

　　When the person jumped down, he would fall 150 metres down in about six seconds. So the time to open parachute is so tight. Danger always exists.

　　High-rise parachuting is banned in many countries but after the 9-11 tragedy, some people suggested parachute jumping may be a good way to escape from danger in high-rise buildings.

　　According to a report in The New York Times, a company in Michigan is offering an US parachute with video or classroom training for people who want a last-chance escape option from structures more than 25 storeys high.

　　But Lowell Bachman, a spokesman for the Parachute Industry Association, told the newspaper he would not recommend such parachutes for anyone but the most experienced skydivers.

　　New to China

　　It was still a little uncertain whether any Chinese parachutists would be taking part in the mass jump on October 5, Chen said. The sport has been popular in Western countries for many years but was new to China.

　　The Xinmin Evening News has reported that China's national parachute team is to go to France for the World Championships held in September. So they have had no spare time to prepare for the Jinmao event.

　　Zhang Angang, the general coach of the national team said parachutists should be of rich experience and skill to take part in high-rise parachuting.

　　"They have to be skillful enough to have had at least 3,000 parachute jumps so they can finish some technical tasks in the sky," he said.

　　But Chen said China had bought two professional high-rise parachutes recently and chose two people to be trained. Chen said: "As time is very short, I am not sure if the two Chinese high-rise parachutists could take part and, in the end, the most important thing is always safety." (BY---Xu Xiaomin)