Life> Travel

Hotelspecial:New dawn for Hongkou hotel

By Yang Yijun (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-15 09:39

Zhou Ruiheng, general manager of Sunrise on the ?Bund.

Sunrise on the Bund embraces Shanghai's historic past. Provided to ?China Daily

Sunrise on the Bund, a recently opened hotel in Hongkou district, offers sweeping views of the city's showpiece waterfront and tells tales of Shanghai's rich past and promising future.

"In our hotel, you can overlook the old houses in Hongkou district, and at the same time see the metropolis in Pudong across the Huangpu River," said Zhou Ruiheng, the hotel's general manager.

"This is exactly the style of our hotel - a combination of old times and new."

Hongkou has a rich history that is not limited to its old lane houses: the area served as a focal point for the city's Jews-in-exile when Shanghai welcomed them from the clutches of Hitler's Nazi Party during World War II.

The hotel, which opened in April, embraces this rich vein of history and the modern sentiments embodied by the recent redevelopment of the Bund.

All of its guest rooms boast an art deco style, giving guests a feeling of Shanghai as it was during its heyday back in the 1930s.

Guests may feel like they are touring a private museum as they stroll down the hotel's corridors, most of which are furnished with antique paintings and sculptures.

It is hard to believe the hotel was restored from an old bicycle factory - itself a former symbol of the city's wealth some 40 years ago.

"The paintings were selected by an investor from Taiwan. They are all authentic works," said Zhou.

Sunrise on the Bund is located near the Xinjian Road Tunnel, which seldom has traffic jams, unlike other tunnels in the city. It is about a four-minute drive from Lujiazui, the city's financial center. The Bund is even closer, on the other end of Waibaidu Bridge.

The hotel has 151 guest rooms, a spa, a swimming pool, a gym and a barbershop. It has four restaurants and as many bars.

Its signature Japanese restaurant is run by Japanese sushi chefs who specialize in serving fresh cuts of fish in traditional Kanto style.

South Taiwan Seafood Restaurant, its Chinese restaurant, revels in its luxury with Hermes dinnerware.

Meanwhile, the hotel's Old Captain Bar brews its own beer, which it sells for 62 yuan a glass. In the evenings, it offers a buy-one, get-one-free discount.

"The restaurants and bars attract lovers of gourmet cuisine as well as local white-collar workers," said Zhou.