“The No.1 Hotel in China”—Astor House Hotel

华夏第一店浦江饭店

If you have ever been to Shanghai， you must know of the Bund bordering the Huangpu River. To the north of the Bund, there is a bridge which has been standing for more than a century. Over the bridge， you will find the very first hotel in China managed by Western businessmen — the Astor House Hotel.

The hotel has a glorious history of more than 170 years. It was first built in 1846 by an Englishman and was named Richard's Hotel after its owner. At that time， the facilities and services of the renowned Astor House ranked high among its kinds around the world. It has hosted numerous distinguished guests， including domestic and overseas politicians， artists， scientists and other celebrities. People called it “the No.1 hotel in China”， and were proud of being its guests.

The Peacock Hall of the Astor House was the most famous ballroom in the Far East during the 19^th century. It was designed with a blend of Victorian， Baroque， and other European architectural styles， and was decorated with white marble columns. It is recorded that the earliest Western-style ball in China was held here on November 5^th， 1897， to celebrate the 60^th birthday of Dowager Empress Cixi.

Another architectural masterpiece is the atrium of the hotel. Shared by all the rooms of the second and the third floor， the atrium is composed of a transparent roof， red brick walls with white baseboards， and an overhanging corridor with red wooden handrails on the third floor. It retains the original architectural style of Victorian Gothic revival. Although the idea of multi-storey atriums is credited to the late twentieth century architect John Portman， the 2-storey atrium of the Astor House， built 50 years earlier than Portman's Hyatt Hotels， had already seen this idea in practice.

Astor House is very proud of its history， which is marked by many “firsts”. Managers of the hotel helped edit the first city travel guide， an English book named The Guide to Shanghai and Surrounding Areas， which is now kept in the Shanghai Museum. In 1882， the hotel hosted some of the earliest performances of Western circuses in China. On June 9^th， 1908， a half-sounded movie was first shown here in the open air. On December 19^th， 1990， the first stock exchange of the People's Republic of China was opened in the renowned Peacock Hall.

Located on the second and third floors， the Halls of Fame are the guestrooms which used to host many big names. For a whole century， Astor House was busy and prosperous. Everybody was proud to be a guest of the hotel， including Charlie Chaplin， Albert Einstein， Bertrand Russell， Ulysses Grant， and many others. The Halls of Fame retain the atmosphere of the days when these notable individuals stayed there. Today， guests from all over the world request these rooms by name. The Halls of Fame have become the most popular rooms in the hotel among those who wish to experience history by themselves.

Astor House Hotel

Star rating: ☆☆☆

ADD: 15 Huangpu Road， Shanghai 200080， China

TEL: 86-21-63246388

FAX: 86-21-63243179

WEB: www.astorhousehotel.com