At the heart of a huge hole in the ground behind a former mine, China is opening a luxurious hotel on the outskirts of Shanghai on Tuesday, giving its wealthy guests a chance to sleep deeply, but it is expensive.
The 18-storey Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland is built into a hole and is 16 floors below the ground level, all overlooking the remains of the former quarry, while two floors are under water.
"Many different buildings were designed in Europe and Dubai, but this was quite different and it became a living thing, so I say it's probably the most important building I have designed," said chief architect Martin Johann.
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The project began in 2006, while construction began in 2013, and the hotel cost $ 288 million.
But how much does it cost tonight in this luxury hotel?
The price of accommodation in InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, near Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, is between 3666 and 6,000 yuan (530 to 860 dollars).
UNESCO Representative Michael Croft, described the 336-room hotel as a "model of sustainable development".
"It's a model inspired by a vision of a better future, and a present looking to its past for answers," he told a news conference in which the hotel was presented Thursday.
"It was possible to give up this quarry, but we did not, we have turned it into a treasure," said Xu Shitan, vice president of the property development group of Shimao Real Estate Development in Hong Kong, which developed the hotel.
