A new Shangri-La Hotel is due to open in Qufu, China – the birthplace of famous philosopher, Confucius – this August. The luxury hotel will be the city’s first international luxury accommodation.
Blending Confucian principles, Chinese traditions and contemporary style, the hotel’s design will reflect Qufu’s history while integrating a modern aesthetic. Chinese architecture will set the tone – the hotel’s facade has been designed to resemble a traditional Chinese pavilion, with roofs topped by grey tiers of flying eaves.
Supported by eight large pillars, the porte-cochere has also been shaped like a traditional Chinese pavilion. It is covered in red lacquer panels with Chinese motifs imprinted on the sides of the ceiling, with traditional Lo Shu Squares repeated on the ceiling.
The hotel’s interior design concept expresses the three key principles of Confucian philosophy – order, harmony and hierarchy – and is based on Confucius’ Six Arts, which include the disciplines of Rites, Music, Archery, Chariot Racing, Calligraphy and Mathematics.
Among the 211 spacious guest rooms to open in August, rooms facing the Yi River have been designed with balconies offering views of the old city wall, palaces of the Temple of Confucius and the hotel’s traditional Chinese landscaped garden dotted with pavilions. All the rooms and the public areas throughout the hotel will feature complimentary WiFi internet access.
