Screaming Opulence

Located on the top floors of the capital’s latest landmark, the China World Tower, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts was pleased to announce  on August 201o the opening of China World Summit Wing Hotel in Beijing, .  With unrivalled views over the city, the hotel soars 330 metres above the China World Trade Center at the heart of Beijing’s Central Business District.

“This is a place I ‘d like to check” , I though while browsing the Kiwi Collection portfolio of luxurious new hotels in China sipping my cup of tea on a New York winter day last December.

Almost packed, The phone at  Opposite House Studio rings twice. ” Your  driver from the CWSW  is waiting for you downstairs with the car. Can we come up for your luggage? ”

In the car already , I wander  what is waiting for me in this new super modern power new building. After the  heights of Park Hyatt in Shanghai I believe it is going to be very difficult to surprise me.

Arriving, at the center of stunning examples of contemporary architectural masterpieces, I notice a monster tower  providing direct access to the city’s coveted designer shops in the China World mall as well as to luxury apartments, the regional headquarters of multinational and Chinese corporations, and the exhibition hall, all within the multi-use complex.  Three sister properties, China World Hotel, Beijing, Traders Hotel, Beijing and Kerry Centre Hotel, Beijing connect seamlessly via indoor walkways and footbridges.

Our driver tells us that it is in  the main building features 278 guestrooms including 29 suites on levels 64 to 77, with floor-to-ceiling views of the city and an average guestroom size of 65 square metres, the most spacious in the city , and our home for the next few days.

We are greeted by a very skinny hostess dressed in a bright red elegant suit , a complex upwards hairdo , lots of makeup and an wide welcoming smile, like if she had  known us for centuries.  At the hotel main entrance  , The Summit Lobby, an area size of 1,780 square metres and a ceiling soaring up nine metros, we are immediately provided us a grand sense of arrival, heightened by the wall mural, mood lighting, and the “champagne bubbles” – shaped glass chandeliers.

The wall mural is seven metres in height and known as The Art of Life, and portrays the rhythm of contemporary Chinese art inspired by nature – mountains with lush trees and foliage, flowers and waterfalls.  The “champagne bubble” glass chandeliers originate from the Czech Republic and each set weighs 500 kilograms.  Four of these sets are located in the China World Tower lobby and comprise of 600 pieces of hand-blown coloured and clear glass bubbles.

Lead  into an elevator, my  sight is almost blurred by the vast amount of intricate patterns of gold wall paneling , glass bubbles, bronze and iron textured walls of the elevator and adjacent corridors. Very 70 style , my heart beats faster and faster and the adrenaline slowly rises to my brain in front of such unpaired and screaming opulence.

China World Trade Center opened 20 years ago and it includes hotels, offices, apartments, exhibition halls and a shopping mall.  It is one of the largest upmarket commercial mixed-use developments in the world and hosts a large number of multinational corporations and global high-end retail stores.  Many domestic and international conferences and events have been held at the complex, which also hosted numerous heads of state, government officials, business magnates and social celebrities and fashion shows.

China World Tower is part of the phase three project, the latest chapter for China World Trade Center.  The development is leading the way in creating a community of active, creative people in a vibrant, fast-moving city, signalling that Beijing has arrived as a centre for international business on par with Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei and the sharp-looking passengers in the hotel’s several elevators are a clear visual example of that crowd.

 Fashion Photos credit: Feng Li/Getty Images via Yahoo