| Fairmont Peace Hotel 上海和平饭店 | |
|---|---|
 Front view of The Fairmont Peace Hotel | |
 Interactive map of Fairmont Peace Hotel 上海和平饭店 | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Art deco |
| Location | 20East Nanjing Road,Shanghai |
| Coordinates | 31°14′27.9″N121°29′04.5″E / 31.241083°N 121.484583°E /31.241083; 121.484583 |
| Opened | 1929 |
| Owner | Jinjiang International |
| Management | Fairmont Hotels and Resorts (North Building),The Swatch Group (South Building) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 13 |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 270 |
| Number of suites | 39 |
| Number of restaurants | 6 |
| Website | |
| www | |
| Peace Hotel | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 上海和平饭店 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 上海和平飯店 | ||||||
| |||||||
ThePeace Hotel (Chinese:和平饭店;pinyin:Hépíng Fàndiàn;Shanghainese:Wubin Vaedi[citation needed]) is ahotel onThe Bund inShanghai, China, known as theFairmont Peace Hotel run byFairmont Hotels and Resorts ofCanada.[1] The hotel has two different buildings. The north building, completed in 1929 asSassoon House, originally housed theCathay Hotel. AcrossNanjing Road, the south building was built as thePalace Hotel in 1908, and is today a residence and studio for artists, known asThe Swatch Art Peace Hotel.
The larger North Building was originally calledSassoon House. It was built by SirVictor Sassoon, of theSassoon family, which built a Shanghai business and real estate empire in the early 20th century. He was a BritishSephardic Jew of Iraqi origin, educated atHarrow School andCambridge University. His family owned thetrading company "E.D. Sassoon & Co.", which managed extensive business interests throughout Asia.
Sassoon House was the first high-rise building built by Victor Sassoon, and one of the first tall buildings in the Far East, rising to 77m top the top of the tower, fifty feet taller than the next tallest building on the Bund.[2] Sassoon bought a full city block on a prominent spot on the Bund, with long frontages on both sides.[2] It was designed by architectsPalmer and Turner, with a reinforced concrete structure. Construction began in 1926, and was completed in 1929.[3]
The Cathay Hotel incorporated a high standard of luxury and modern amenities such as indoor plumbing, which made it a more esteemed establishment than other nearby hotels such as theKadoorie family owned Majestic andAstor House Hotels.[2] The Cathay featured a floor of rooms referred to as the “national suites,” with each room decorated in a different foreign style. According to author Jonathan Kaufman, the Japan Suite featured tatami mats, Indian rugs and cushions were found in the India Suite, and Chinese furniture and ceramics in the China Suite.[2]
The building occupies 4,617 square meters (49,697 square feet), and offers 36,317 square meters (390,913 square feet) of floor space. The building is ten stories in height, and the tenth floor is a penthouse, where Victor Sassoon once lived.[4] The North Building is 77 meters (253 feet) high to the roofline, and 83 meters (272 feet) to the spire.
The builders followed a consistent art deco scheme, from exterior design to interior decor. Most of the building features granite facing, while the ninth floor and the roof are surfaced with terracotta. The eastern facade (facing theHuangpu River andthe Bund) features a pyramidal roof with steep sides, and a height of about 10 meters (33 feet). The pyramid is faced with copper, which has corroded to light green.
Banks and shops leased the ground floor space until 1949. This space became the Shanghai branch ofCitibank in 2002.[5] The fourth through ninth floors once housed theCathay Hotel.[6]
After theCommunist takeover in 1949, some of the offices were used by the Municipal Finance Committee. In 1952, the building was taken over by the Municipal Government. In 1956, it once again became a hotel under the name "Peace Hotel".[7] During theCultural Revolution, the hotel was used by theGang of Four, most famously byZhang Chunqiao as he headed theShanghai Commune from headquarters in the Peace Hotel.[8]
Its Old Jazz Band was recently the basis for a movie, "As Time Goes By" a film byUli Gaulke.[9] Its roof terrace restaurant overlooks the district of Pudong across the Huangpu. This hotel was also used as an inspiration forVicki Baum's 1937 novel "Shanghai '37",[10] also known as "Hotel Shanghai" and "Nanjing Road".
In 2007, the hotel closed for a three-year renovation of both the exterior and interior, including the guest rooms, the lobby, and the dining and entertainment venues. The North Building reopened in 2010, as theFairmont Peace Hotel Shanghai.[11] The hotel now offers 270 guestrooms and 39 suites,[12] including Victor's Café, named for Sir Victor Sassoon. The eighth floor hosts the Peace Hall,[13] plus several meeting rooms, and an outdoor terrace.
A low-rise extension has been added to the rear of the hotel, housing guestrooms, a swimming pool, and spa.[14]
In May 2025,Jinjiang International, the hotel's owner andAccor, parent company of Fairmont, the hotel's manager, announced the Peace Hotel would undergo extensive renovations, during which it will remain open. At the conclusion of renovations, in 2027, the hotel will be moved to Accor'sRaffles Hotels & Resorts luxury division and will be renamedRaffles Peace Hotel Shanghai.[15]
Separated from the North Building byNanjing Road, the hotel business that occupies the South Building dates back to the 1850s, when it was known as the Central Hotel. In 1903, the hotel was renamed thePalace Hotel. The building that stands today was completed in 1908, and offered two elevators, the first building in Shanghai to do so. It was also once home to aKuhn & Komor shop.
The hotel occupies 2,125 square metres (22,870 sq ft), with a floor space of 11,607 square metres (124,940 sq ft). It has a brick veneer, with its six stories reaching 30 metres (98 ft) in height. The exterior is in aRenaissance style. The hotel has eighteen artist residences and seven guest rooms.[16]
In 1911, after the success of theXinhai Revolution,Sun Yat-sen stayed at the hotel and advocated commitment to the revolutionary cause. DuringWorld War II, the building was occupied by theJapanese army; it was purchased postwar by a Chinese company, continuing operations until 1952, when it was confiscated and used by the Municipal Construction Department. In 1965 it resumed operations as a hotel, as a wing of the Peace Hotel.
Similar to its counterpart to the north, the South Building was renovated in preparation for the 2010 World Expo. It emerged asThe Swatch Art Peace Hotel.[17] It hosts artists from around the world who live and work for a limited time in apartments/workshops. The heritage facade and public rooms of the building have been restored.[18]
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| Preceded by ? | Tallest Building in Shanghai 1929 – 1934 | Succeeded by |
31°14′27.9″N121°29′04.5″E / 31.241083°N 121.484583°E /31.241083; 121.484583
