Pangu Plaza: Beijing's hotel dragon

By Zhang Qi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-16 08:00

The Water Cube is in sight from different angles at Pangu 7 Star Hotel Beijing.

To the west of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube in the Olympic Green of Beijing there is a white dragon - a five-building complex known as Pangu Plaza.

Carefully designed to be reminiscent of the fabled creature, its head faces south and its tail north, with a three-building body in the middle.

The tail of the complex is the newly opened Pangu 7 Star Hotel Beijing that invites guests to stay at the pinnacle of luxury.

The hotel's spacious lobby is a combination of Chinese and Western decoration, evidenced by marble pillars and rare onmosia henryi wood carvings on the ceiling. The 88-m-tall hotel has 19 stories above ground.

The hotel's vow is to pamper customers in its spacious 234 rooms and suites that have ceilings 4 m high and space of at least 45 sq m. The largest is 488 sq m.

All its rooms are decorated in light colors with silken wallpaper. Modern amenities include Sony TVs, Boss acoustics, furniture from the United States and bathroom fixtures from France.

Despite the Western-style fireplace in each room, decor is typically Chinese in its imperial taste.

Every room has a traditional Chinese painting with a titanium alloy framework, all copies from collections in the Palace Museum depicting ancient culture and providing a Chinese vision to guests.

Lampshades are painted with dragons and auspicious clouds. Its bathrooms, with both a bathtub and shower, have TVs that enable watching while taking a bath. Luxurious viewing is further enhanced by imported spray fixtures that replicate the feel of a waterfall.

The hotel's restaurants serve Chinese, Japanese, French and other Western cuisines.

The Chinese restaurant on both the 5th and 6th floors has 26 private rooms furnished in the styles of France, California, Bali, modern Chinese, Thai and England.

The hotel has attracted Kaden Minokichi, a 290-year-old Japanese restaurant, to open an outlet on its 21st floor, the only one overseas for the Minokichi group. All its chefs and service staff are from Japan.

Minokichi, founded in 1719 as one of eight restaurants licensed to serve freshwater fish, is one of Japan's best-known restaurants for Kyoto cuisine.

Its Western cuisine is provided all day.

The hotel's Karma Lounge and Happiness Lounge provide locations for leisure and conversation, while its Oceanic Spa offers a swimming pool and fitness center on its fourth floor. The Happiness Lounge enjoys a good view of the Water Cube and is a place for high tea.

The complex's other buildings include the dragon's head, which is an office building, and three residential buildings that have 192 apartments. Each residential building is topped by four courtyards.

The hotel is only 20 minutes to the Beijing Capital International Airport and with easy access to Beijing's city center, Tiananmen Square, the financial and embassy communities and major sightseeing attractions.

Its services include VIP welcome at the airport terminal, round-the-clock personalized butler service and world-class concierges to assist with all arrangements from coveted tickets for performances, exclusive tailor made sightseeing, cultural tours and more.

 

(China Daily 12/16/2008 page10)