Star Wars: 10 Secrets Of Cloud City You Need To Know
9. How Does The City Function?
Even though we didn't get to see a lot of Cloud City, one can easily tell that it's fricking enormous. (I mean, look at how long it took for Luke Skywalker to fall to the bottom.)
It's never specified how large the structure is but Cloud City consists of 392 stories. By comparison, the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, consists of 160 stories and stands 828 meters tall (which is 2,717ft). However, only the first 50 levels of Cloud City are open to the public, since the bottom 342 levels are for mining and processing precious tibanna gas.
Even though this gas is a valuable commodity, it's very expensive to filter. Also, the 36,000 engines and tractor beam generators which keep the city in the air aren't cheap either. To bring in some cash, Cloud City was turned into a luxury resort filled with stores, attractions, and and high-spending casinos. It also has exclusive suites that charge up to 5,000 Imperial credits per night (which equates to $5,000). Tourists can also hire a flying car to sightsee or check out the local mines.