Shanghai's historic Peace Hotel has closed for renovations and is expected to remain closed for the next two years while construction work is completed. Jinjiang International Hotel Management, the owner of the hotel, has signed a deal with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and the Swiss watchmaker Swatch to do the renovations.
Jianjiang will work with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts on the northern wing of the hotel, which is near Nanjing Road and the Bund, and the company will work with Swatch on the southern wing. The southern part of the hotel will be renamed the Shanghai Swatch Art Center, and it will be turned into an art center and will house flagship stores for international-brand watches.
Jianjiang owns some of the top hotels in Shanghai, but it has faced stiff competition lately from international companies opening up businesses in Shanghai. The competition is especially fierce along the Bund. The company hopes that the renovations will help it to compete more effectively against the foreign companies.
The Peace Hotel first opened in 1929 as the Cathay, and is was considered to be one of the top hotels in Shanghai, attracting guests such as Charlie Chaplin, U.S. General George Marshall, and playwright Noel Coward. It was renamed in 1949 following the Communist takeover to get rid of any colonialistic overtones.
