Famous for Its Crab Feasts—Central Hotel

蟹宴名扬海内外王宝和大酒店

At the crossroads of Jiujiang and Fujian Roads， adjacent to Nanjing Road， the “No.1 Street in China”， there is a four-star rated business hotel， the Central Hotel Shanghai. The hotel has 319 comfortable guest rooms in total， including presidential suites， royal suites and other types of suites. There are also executive floors for business activities. Wireless Internet access is available in public areas， and various entertainment facilities are offered in the hotel. The multi-functional banquet hall which can accommodate 300 guests and more than 20 independent private rooms provides Chinese and overseas guests and tourist groups with an ideal place to hold all kinds of dinner banquets， parties， conferences and other activities.

Wang Baohe， the Chinese registered brand of the hotel， has a history of more than 260 years. It can be dated back to 1744 A.D.， or the 9^th year of Qianlong， Qing Dynasty. The name of “Wang Baohe” originated in Shaoxing， Zhejiang Province. It was at first a private wine workshop， mainly selling the Rice Wine of Shaoxing. Later， a Wang Baohe Restaurant opened on Salt Melon Street in the Nanshi District of Shanghai and so introduced Shaoxing Rice Wine to Shanghai. In the second year of Xianfeng， Qing Dynasty （1852 A.D.）， Wang Baohe Restaurant moved to Peng Tang Lane （near today's Nanjing Road and Shanxi Road）. In 1936， the restaurant moved again to Fuzhou Road and remained there ever since. On September 28,1999， the newly built Central （Wang Baohe） Hotel， which is owned by Shanghai Tobacco Group Corp.， Shanghai Huangpu Tobacco， Sugar ＆ Wine Co. Ltd.， and Shanghai Deqiang Industrial Co. Ltd.， opened for business.

The hotel has made a consistent effort to preserve its brand and promote its featured dish， the “Hairy Crab Feast”. It has successively hosted the “Crab Culture Forum ＆ Art Party” for several years， and invited celebrities in media， catering and art circles to attend the party， such as Chen Peiqiu， Shi Dawei， Han Tianheng and Han Shuo. They gave a number of art pieces as presents to the hotel. Since its opening， the hotel has been doing its part for the development of Shanghai's culture and art. It has accommodated many important political figures， domestic and overseas guests as well as overseas musical groups， such as delegations attending the Asian Music Festival and the Anti-Pirate Concert， the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra， the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra， and the Irish Tap Dancing Group， STOMP.

The historic signature dish of the hotel， the “Hairy Crab Feast”， is world famous. It is popular in all seasons; however， in autumn and winter， people must book early to reserve a place. In 2001， the Japanese program “Iron Chefs” produced by Tokyo TV Station's Annual Big Show was filmed in Hong Kong， Vietnam and Shanghai. The Central Hotel Shanghai was chosen as the venue. The theme of the competition， which was between Japanese Master of Cooking Michiba Rokusaburō and the Head Chef of the Central Hotel Shanghai， Wang Hao， was just the “Hairy Crab Feast”. After cutting， steaming， frying and other complicate cooking procedures， the two parties made two “Hairy Crab Feasts” of totally different flavors. The program had a tremendous impact in Japan. In the second year， a similar cooking competition was held between the Central Hotel Shanghai and a famous Japanese Restaurant “Suntory”. The Family Pictorial， an upmarket consumer's magazine， also started a special column and devoted much space to introducing the “Hairy Crab Feast” of the Central Hotel Shanghai.

The Central Hotel Shanghai is the best place to savor Hairy Crab Feast， and a place where lovers of fine food would not want to miss. It is praised by many celebrities and VIPs， and received many art works from its guests. The “All Hairy Crab Feast” of the hotel has also become more and more refined， and made the Central Hotel Shanghai one of the most popular hotels in Shanghai.

Central Hotel

Star rating: ☆☆☆☆

ADD: 555 Jiujiang Road， Shanghai 200001， China

TEL: 86-21-53965000

FAX: 86-21-53965011

WEB: www.centralhotelshanghai.com