International Hotel

International Hotel

The International Hotel is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The International Hotel is located at No. 170 West Nanjing Road. It was invested in and constructed in the 20th year of the Republic of China (1931) by the "Four Banks Savings Association" formed by four banks — the Bank of China, the Yien Yieh Commercial Bank, the Continental Bank, and the Central Bank of China. The building was completed in December of the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), covering a land area of 1,170 square meters with a total floor area of 15,650 square meters. It has twenty-four floors (twenty-two above ground and two underground), stands 83.8 meters tall, and was designed by Hungarian architect László Hudec, with construction contracted to Fu Kai Construction Company. The building features a steel frame structure.

When the building first opened, the ground floor was used by the bank itself, the second floor housed the billing department and a restaurant, the third floor partially provided tea service and meeting rooms, floors four to twelve were guest rooms, the fourteenth floor held a restaurant and ballroom, floors fifteen to nineteen contained apartment-style guest rooms for high-end clientele, floors twenty and above were used for equipment, and the twenty-second floor featured an observation deck. The building included six luxury suites, twenty premium suites, and a total of 174 single and double rooms.

The exterior of the building follows the Art Deco style popular among American skyscrapers in the 1930s. Though not large in footprint, it presents a tall, elegant appearance and became the newest high-rise structure in the Far East upon completion, as well as the tallest building in China before the 1980s. The ground floor is clad in black granite from Qingdao, while the upper levels are decorated with brown Taishan facing bricks. The building has six elevators, and its main entrance features a revolving door at the center, making it one of the most renowned hotel buildings in the country.

It was designated as a Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1989 and listed as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 2006.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units