The Peace Hotel

On May 1, the Shanghai Yangtze Hotel, which has a 70-year history, reopened as The Langham Yangtze Boutique, a five-star luxury hotel. Almost at the same time, the 80-year-old Peace Hotel, a Shanghai landmark, announced its plans to rebuild, aiming to become the most expensive hotel in Shanghai.

When Shanghai won the right to host Expo 2010, hotels in the city drew world attention. Official statistics show that Shanghai expects 70 million visitors during the six-month event, which means huge profits for the hospitality industry.

Peace Hotel: 'Old Shanghai Returns'

Formerly known as the Cathay Hotel, the Peace Hotel was built in 1929 and became known as the "No.1 Mansion in the Far East."

To see how successful the Peace Hotel was, one had only to glance at the star-studded guest list: Charlie Chaplin, Bernard Shaw, Lu Xun, Muhammad Ali, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling -- who held their engagement ceremony there -- and many important politicians from all over the world.

But with the construction of more and more modern skyscrapers, the Peace Hotel has been silent for a long time on the busy Bund.

Now, Ian Carr, a famous designer from the Hirsch Bedner Associates, a leader in hospitality interior design worldwide, is trying to rouse the "No.1 Mansion" from its slumber by embracing Old Shanghai style.

"We are aiming to make the Peace Hotel not only a standing luxury hotel, but also a place of interest for anyone who wants to experience the golden age of Old Shanghai," he told China Business News (CBN).

"We chose the classical cross-shaped floor design which was popular in the 1930s to replace the arcade in the hall," he explained, "and we are reusing the splendid octagonal glass louver, which has been covered by plaster for years."

Well-known Lalique glass works will be another highlight in the reconstruction program.

These glass works, named for innovative French glass designer René Lalique, were fashionable in the early 20th century, especially in Europe. Inset as decorations, they appear as ivory from a distance and dark blue up close, and they shine a brilliant red against the light like a ball of flame.

"In China, such a large amount of Lalique glass works kept in such good condition is amazing," Carr said.