Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing, a new landmark in the capital, had its official opening on Monday, marking the completion of Kempinski's largest development in China.

Located 60 kilometers north of downtown Beijing, the new property shaped auspiciously like a rising sun is among 14 hotels on the shores of Yanqi Lake and on Yanqi Island, which are all managed by Kempinski and owned by the State-owned Beijing Enterprise Group.

Standing alongside the picturesque lake, they boast panoramic views of Yan Mountain and the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall.

Also known as the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing and Yanqi Island, the complex served as the official host venue for last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum before its opening, utilizing its more than 14,000 square meters of meeting space, conference center and 14 restaurants and bars.

The high-profile event put the hotel in the limelight and enabled it to hit the headlines of overseas media in 2014.

US TV channel CNN asked, "Is this the most incredible hotel to open this year?" while the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom published an article titled "Could a stay bring you fortune?" to introduce the spectacular hotel to its readers. The Huffington Post reported, "the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel is worth the trip to China alone".

The gradual opening of each facility began on Nov 17, 2014, six days after the final APEC meeting was held on Yanqi Island.

The luxury Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing, which has 306 guest rooms and suites spread across 21 floors, required two years of work with more than 9,300 construction workers.

The architectural concept of the hotel, which was designed by Shanghai Huadu Architect Design Co, derived from the idea of the "Oriental sunrise", emphasizing the integration of the nature and the building, according to the company.

Compared with a normal single tower building, each floor area gets an extra 25 percent of natural daylight.

The hotel's 1,850-square-meter, pillar-free Grand Ballroom accommodates up to 1,400 delegates in a theater setup. For smaller-scale events, the ballroom can be divided into three separate sections.

Over the past year and still ongoing, the hotel continues to surprise the global community with its unique facilities, architecture and its positioning in the market as a destination for leisure activities, as well as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, more commonly known as MICE.

"Since we opened our facilities on Yanqi Island, we have already to date hosted numerous large-scale meetings by multinational companies," said Brice Pean, general manager of the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing.

"In 2015, the bulk of our MICE business will come from the automobile, pharmaceutical and technology industries," Pean said.

"MICE organizers and delegates are already pleasantly surprised by how we have changed the whole MICE landscape in Beijing with the range of unique options that we have to offer, be it on land, by the lake, on the water, or by the mountain.

"We are also working in partnership with unique service providers such as helicopter services, e-yacht services and hot air balloon services to offer our guests unique and luxurious experiences," he added.

The hotel's weekend leisure business will come from neighboring domestic travelers, local residents and expatriates in Beijing, according to the general manager.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/07/2015 page10)