Society

Designer hotels find new place to dock

By Shi Yingying (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-07 08:49

Shanghai - With the reopening of the 150-year-old Shiliupu Dock, the abandoned pier is now turning itself into a creative hub by attracting designer hotels, restaurants and shops.

It is part of the three-year Bund renovation project that came to the end on Aug 28.

Yet for the older generation of people from Shanghai, Shiliupu Dock is nothing more than a low-end residential area with poor surroundings.

"The only thing I can't forget about my old house is its smell," said 52-year-old Gu Ren, who lived next to the dock for more than 10 years.

"We were surrounded by a vegetable market, a fish market and hundreds of vendors selling groceries, so the smell was a mixture of those."

The original Shiliupu Dock was responsible for shipping between Shanghai and other cities along the Yangtze and Huangpu rivers. Due to competition from rail transport and air traffic, it was abandoned in 2003.

However, Keith Barr, managing director of InterContinental Hotels Group Greater China, thought the dock could be the perfect location for designer hotel Indigo.

This November, the upcoming Indigo hotel will be the first Indigo in the Asia Pacific region.

"Indigo is famous for its concept of reflecting the stories of the neighborhood," said Barr. "I guess with its 150-year history, the dock has lots of great stories to tell."

Just a few blocks away, the newly opened boutique hotel Waterhouse shares a similar philosophy with Indigo in terms of choosing locations.

"With high-end hotels, luxury restaurants and shops fully packed on the Bund, I believe South Bund is the upcoming star for both tourists and local residents," said Ann Wang, spokesperson for the hotel.

Both hotels are settled in the Cool Docks area - a new commercial venture offering retail outlets, restaurants and bars and aiming to become one of Shanghai's latest culture and lifestyle riverfront destination.

Though some historians insist preserving the old dock is necessary, Yu Hai, professor of sociology from Fudan University, did not agree.

"There were many people opposed to the idea of converting Potsdam Square in Berlin into a postmodernism-styled architectural complex. They'd prefer to keep its ancient flavor. But year after year, people found new meaning in the new Potsdam Square.

"The same thing could apply to the Shiliupu Dock. The old dock has completed its mission. Now is the time for us to let it go and accept a brand new Shiliupu Dock."