As we reported, the Peace Hotel reopens to the public today. Malcolm Moore of the Telegraph got a first look at the renovated 81-year-old landmark. He says:
The Shanghai government forced a painstaking restoration, having recently discovered the value of maintaining the city’s heritage.
“To find the correct colour scheme, the designers had to climb up to the ceilings and scrape off five or six layers of paint to get at the original,” said Mr Yang. However, the hotel has been upgraded with modern amenities, said Kamal Naamani, the general manager. “There is running hot water, for example.”
It seems, however, the Chinese visitors are more interested in what kind of shopping can be done.
More excellent pictures of the hotel can be found on his Flickr account.