The Peace Hotel

Located at the Bund, Shanghai, the Faimont Peace Hotel was under construction during 1927 to 1929, and it has experienced three phases: 1929~1952, Cathay Hotel; 1956~2007, Peace Hotel-North wing; Since 2010, Faimont Peace Hotel.

The builder is Victor Sassoon who crippled one of his leg during the war and finally left Shanghai and his business empire partly because the then newly established government levied heavily on his past business. 

In its early second phase, the hotel was mainly if not only for visitors from the former Soviet Union.

The dome was shinning golden with its bronze-made. With years' erosion, the colour turns into green. The colour green now is the paint applied on during restoration.

The above four pieces of relief sculpture on the walls in the main hall are all silver.

The little museum is entered through the gate of the right wing of the building, on the right, there is a case of narrow stairs upwards to a little room crammed with antique stuffs in, of, and related to this building.

According to introduction, all things in this room are authentic. While the stuffs outside are all duplicated ones, such as pendant lamp, chandeliers,  etc.

After a brief introduction,  visitors will be introduced to the main hall where are the four silver relief surrounded and centred by a shinning glaze pigeon sculpture, and covered by the octagonal top. The hall was used as a place for trading imported goods.

Pass a long hallway, we are at the every original front gate of this hotel which is facing the Bund. The reason why this gate was discarded is Mr. Sassoon took the advice from a landscape fortune teller who warned him that his fortune might leak out through this gate and go away with the riverflow……………… 

Charlie Chaplin had himself a photo taken on the stairs, so the staircase was named after him as the "Chaplin Staircase".

The hotel has many big names on its visitor list: recently was the former U.S. president Barak Obama in 2017; The French president Macron in 2019 state banquet. 

The Peace Hall where the Banque was hosted was a ball room.

The hotel boasts its national suits: Chinese, Japanese, American, British, Spanish, French, Indian, German, and Italian. Among which, the Indian one is the most popular one for its exotic touch.

The president occupies the entire 10th floor and was where Mr. Sassoon lived.

The building just at the other side of NanJing Rd is part of the hotel too. Now, it's under the control of the Swedish watch brand (Omega, Swatch, Blancpain). There are 30 rooms in it only for artists who pay their fee by their art works. The Swedish watch brand has three such art centres, one in its homeland, one in Paris, and one in Shanghai.