A World Famous Hotel—Peace Hotel

世界著名饭店和平饭店

Located on the Bund by Huangpu River and adjacent to the bustling pedestrian street of Nanjing Road， the Peace Hotel stands elegantly in the prosperous financial zone of Lujiazui and gazes upon the soaring Oriental Pearl TV Tower across the river. While the beautiful Bund of Shanghai is known as “the multinational architectural show”， the Peace Hotel is one of the most brilliant “jewels in the crown”. It is composed of two buildings with different styles， both of which are protected by the government as examples of national excellent modern architecture. The Peace Hotel is no doubt an ideal choice for business people and travelers， who wish to enjoy its convenience and vitality as well as the charming and exotic nights of Shanghai.

Built in 1926 by Ellis Victor Sassoon， a British Jew， the luxurious North Building of the Peace Hotel first opened under the name of Cathay Hotel in 1929. Built in a Gothic style of the Chicago School with a height of 77 meters and a construction area of 30，000 square meters， the 12-storey mansion was the tallest building on the Bund at that time and cost a total of 2，480，000 silver tael. Therefore， it gained the reputation as the “No.1 Mansion in the Far East”.

Cathay Hotel was well known in Shanghai for its luxury and grandeur. It accommodated mostly distinguished guests from countries all over the world， including politicians， financiers， entrepreneurs， senior officials and celebrities， such as Charlie Chaplin， Bernard Shaw， General Marshall， General Wedemeyer and John Leighton Stuart. It was in the Cathay Hotel that Noel Coward completed his famous play， Private Lives.

The South Building of the Peace Hotel is the first modern building in the architectural history of Shanghai. Designed by an Englishman named Scott and built in 1855, it had seven floors in the style of the European Renaissance. Before being purchased by the Palace Store, an English firm, and being renamed as the “Palace Store Co. Ltd.” in 1895, it was known as the Central Hotel. Palace Store Co. Ltd. became the first modern hotel built after Shanghai was opened up to foreign countries. In 1906, Palace Store Co. Ltd. was rebuilt into the most luxurious hotel in Shanghai. It was constructed with stones and bricks and facilitated with advanced sanitary system and two elevators, all of which were unprecedented in Shanghai at that time. Also built on the roof was the first ‘Roof Garden’ in Shanghai. On the ground floor there was a large restaurant, which witnessed many important historical events. On December 29^th, 1911, before Dr. Sun Yat-sen became the President of China, he delivered his famous speech here, in which he proclaimed the well-known slogan, “The revolution is not yet accomplished. Comrades still need to struggle hard.” The first international conference for the ban on opium-smoking and the opium trade was also held here in 1909. The restaurant also witnessed the engagement ceremony of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong May-ling.

After the Chinese Liberation in 1949， the North and the South Buildings were reopened for business in 1956 and 1965 respectively. They were combined into one hotel which was formally renamed as the “Peace Hotel”.

With 363 guest rooms in total， the Peace Hotel is noted for its distinguishing international style in room construction and décor. The hotel， which has many restaurants， banquet halls， multi-functional rooms and bars， is also famous for its authentic Chinese food specialising in Shanghai， Canton， and Sichuan cuisines. The banquet halls are the best choice for first-class banquets. Bill Clinton， the former President of the United States， once dined in the hotel and was deeply impressed by the wonderful flavour of the cuisines. He wrote a signed letter of thanks to the hotel after he returned to the United States. The Western cuisines served by the hotel are also worth of mentioning. They are a wonderful blend of traditional originality and modern approaches. Mubarak， the President of Egypt， visited the hotel particularly for its famous cuisines.

The Peace Hotel Old Jazz Band， which performs in the jazz bar of the hotel， is one of the most famous jazz bands in Shanghai. The band， of which the average age of the players is 75 years， was founded in 1980 and comprises six players who have been playing music for more than half a century. The Old Jazz Bar was recommended as the world's best bar by the American magazine Newsweek in 1996.

The Peace Hotel observes the principle that “the guests must be completely satisfied” at all times. With considerate service and first-class administration， the hotel has hosted many of the country's leaders and distinguished guests from nearly 100 countries and regions， including Chinese leaders such as Hu Jintao， Jiang Zemin， Zhu Rongji， Li Peng， Li Ruihuan， Wei Jianxing， Li Lanqing， as well as former Presidents of the United States， Mexico， Brazil， Egypt， Uruguay， and the former Prime Ministers of Greece， Pakistan and other countries.

The Peace Hotel Shanghai has been honored “the most famous hotel in the world” by the “Famous Hotel Association” for twice. It also won a number of other prizes and awards， such as “the Arch of Europe International Excellence and Quality Prize”， “Europe Quality Summit Award in the Platinum Category”， “Century International Diamond Quality Award” and “Asia's Best Hotel”. The Peace Hotel deserves the honor of “the most famous hotel” in the world as it is so well-known home and abroad.

Peace Hotel

Star rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

ADD: 20 East Nanjing Road， Shanghai 20002， China

TEL: 86-21-63216888

FAX: 86-21-63290300

WEB: www.shanghaipeacehotel.com