Design
If it had been completed, the wheel would have had a diameter of 198 m (650 ft), and each of its 48 air conditioned observation capsules would have been able to carry up to 40 passengers.
It would have been rotated by four drive units, each capable of producing over 16 million lb-ft of torque and comprising a pair of hydraulic drive modules, each module containing a hydraulic power unit driving four hydraulic motors. Each of the 32 hydraulic motors was to have powered a planetary gearbox driving rubber tyres against the wheel's circumferential rim.
An automated boarding system would have enabled the wheel to rotate continuously while passengers boarded and disembarked the capsules via electric feeder vehicles.
It was expected that, on a clear sunny day, passengers would have been able to see the Great Wall of China in the mountains to Beijing's north.
Read more about this topic: Beijing Great Wheel
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