Forget skyscraper views, the most impressive luxury hotel in Shanghai is built underground
Take a sneak peek inside the world’s first subterranean hotel in China.
5 stars
The five-star InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland hugs the side of an abandoned andesite quarry in the southwest Songjiang District, just 20 minutes from downtown Shanghai.
88 metres
Shimao Group chairman Xu Rongmao had the vision for the project after discovering the abandoned 88-metre deep quarry. Describing it as a scar on the earth, he wanted to turn it into a treasure.
16 floors below ground
Sixteen of the hotel’s 18 floors are below ground level including two beneath the surface of the lake while the living rooms of the suites located underwater each has a private aquarium.
7:30 performance
Every night at 7:30 pm an Echo performance projects images onto a wall of water in the lake accompanied by a soundtrack.
An island in the lake with a pine tree and mist at the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, a subterranean hotel built in an old quarry.
Lead architect Martin Jochman:
"The potential beauty and drama of this incredible site struck me immediately."
Text Mark Andrews
Photos Mark Andrews and courtesy of InterContinental Shanghai