Shangri-La brings 5-star luxury to Tangshan

The envelope containing the key card for my room at Shangri-La Hotel Tangshan read, "Here's what we believe is the key to a perfect stay".

So began my three-day stay there late last month as one of the hotel's first guests.

As the brand's 93rd outlet, Shangri-La Hotel Tangshan is the first international five-star hotel in the North China city.

It took me about two hours to drive from Beijing to the hotel, which is located in Phoenix New Town in the west of the city center.

Tangshan is the host city of the International Horticultural Exposition 2016. In keeping with that status, the hotel has arranged a garden of flowers, bushes and a miniature bridge in the center of its lobby.

From my room window I looked out at a large lawn behind the hotel, which I was told covers about 110,000 square meters. Built by the hotel, it is a public area, allowing local residents to enjoy it.

I walked on the lawn, wandering along its curved paths, watching bright clouds as the sun set and enjoying the breeze. I believe it would be equally comfortable to walk there in the morning.

Wonderful sounds followed the amazing sights. When I got back to the hotel, I heard music and singing in the lobby. For a few seconds, I thought the music was recorded, but then I realized it was a live show.

Two girls were on a stage by the French window through which the lawn could be seen, one playing piano and the other playing guitar. The duet, named Purple, perform at the hotel every evening from 7 to 11 pm.

Traditionally, every Shangri-La Hotel across the world has a Shang Palace Chinese restaurant, but in recent years, that norm has relaxed. In Tangshan, the Chinese restaurant Tang Huang Ge serves fine traditional Cantonese cuisine and local specialties.

One of the must-eat dishes at the restaurant is Peking Roast Duck. The hotel invited Chef Yuan Chaoying, one of the top masters of the cuisine, from Beijing to supervise the dish's preparation.

The buffet restaurant, Cafe Shang, offers both Eastern and Western cuisine, from Boston lobsters to Japanese-style sushi and sashimi.

Among them I found something rarely seen in a high-end hotel - malatang - at the Chengdu maocai booth. Originating from Sichuan, it consists of various ingredients on skewers, including meat, fish balls, vegetables and mushrooms, cooked in a pot of spicy broth. Customers pick up whatever they want to eat.

I was surprised to find such a typical cheap street food in such a high-end hotel as Shangri-La - and I was even more surprised to see how popular it was.

Rocky Chua, the executive chef of the restaurant, who is from Singapore, is an interesting person. When he knew a guest sitting beside me was having his birthday, the chef sang a song for him he made up himself spontaneously.

Ornamental ceramic plates with intricate designs hang on the walls of the restaurants, reminding customers of the history of Tangshan city as the capital of ceramics in northern China, dating back some 600 years.

Ceramics can be found everywhere in hotel. I saw ceramic cups in my bathroom instead of the glasses I would use in other hotels. There are also teapots and vases in the lobby, all made of locally produced ceramics.

One afternoon I tried the hotel gym and, when I went to the bike machine, I saw that a towel and a bottle of water were already waiting.

I started pedaling and the attached screen began to show beautiful scenes of wine production bases in France, as if I was riding through the country's roads.

The sightseeing tour routes also include other European regions, Africa and the United States. I could also use it to browse the Internet if I wished, but, forget that, I love the virtual traveling more.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/19/2015 page10)