Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announced that it will open Shangri-La Hotel, Nanjing and Shangri-La Hotel, Yangzhou in 2012. The two Jiangsu province hotels will join the group's existing six hotels in the Yangtze River Delta and two further projects in Shanghai opening in the next two years. By 2012, Shangri-La will operate 10 hotels in the region and be represented in all major cities of the economic powerhouse and centre of business and leisure travel.
Shangri-La Hotel, Nanjing
The 670-room Shangri-La Hotel, Nanjing, will be located in the city's Gulou District and will offer views of the Xuan Wu Lake. The hotel's interiors will be elegant and refined with inspirations from the culture and history of Nanjing. Guestrooms will begin at 45 square metres with elegant contemporary furnishings including Shangri-La's signature bedding.
Three-hundred kilometers from Shanghai, Nanjing is the capital of the Jiangsu province. The city is a regional transportation hub, with the Nanjing Lukou International Airport and major road, rail and waterways linking the city to major national and international destinations.
Leisure travelers to Nanjing can visit the Fuzimiao Confucius Temple and the Purple Mountain, which is home to Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Mausoleum, the certified UNESCO World Heritage site Ming Tomb, and the Lingu Temple and Pagoda.
Shangri-La Hotel, Yangzhou
Located to the northeast of Nanjing, Yangzhou will welcome its first international luxury hotel to the city when the 371-room Shangri-La Hotel, Yangzhou opens in the central business district. The hotel's guestrooms will cover over 42 square metres, with premier rooms offering 63 square metres of space.
Set at the junction of the Yangtze River, the Grand Canal and the Huaihe River, Yangzhou has historically been a major political, financial, and trade center. Boasting a 2,500 year history dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period, the city is home to over 500 historic sites including the Slender West Lake with its Qing Dynasty architecture, the Daming Temple, and the He and Ge Gardens. Many well-known poets, such as Li Bai and Su Dongbo, made Yangzhou their home during the Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties.
In addition to the projects in Nanjing and Yangzhou, Shangri-La continues to invest in Shanghai. The group will open its second hotel in Shanghai, the Kerry Hotel Pudong, in December 2010 and its third in the city, the Jingan Shangri-La, Shanghai in 2012.