SHANGHAI: Asia's first ever "ice bar" is to open here on June 22.

About 45 tons of ice to be used to build and decorate the bar arrived in Shanghai this week. It had traveled some 30,000 km from the Torne River in Sweden, which lies 200 km inside the Arctic Circle.

The bar will be located on Central Huaihai Road at Infiniti Plaza. Once completed, it will measure 100 sq m and be able to accommodate 60 customers at a time.

All of the walls, chairs, tables, lights and even glasses will be made of ice.

The bar will be sponsored by Swedish vodka manufacturer Absolut, which has a further six such outlets around the world.

Mark Armstrong, the bar's designer, said: "All Absolut ice bars use only ice from the Torne River in north Sweden, because it is natural and therefore very clean and pure."

The temperature inside the bar will be maintained at about -5 C. Customers will be given an Eskimo-style poncho to keep them warm, but they will be advised to stay for no more than 45 minutes at any one time.

The bar's developers scoured China for the best location, and finally decided on Shanghai.

Armstrong said: "Shanghai is the Chinese city that is known for starting trends, and it is an important center for design and art.

"The concept of our bar, which puts the emphasis on creativity and design, will be a fresh and exciting contribution to the city.

"That's why we chose Shanghai as the location; it is a fitting marriage."

Armstrong has been involved in the construction of eight icehotels around the world.

The whole look of the bar will be inspired by the Arctic landscape, Armstrong said, including the use of sculptures of polar animals.

The dcor will be refreshed every six months, Armstrong said, with about 90 percent of the ice work being undertaken in Sweden and shipped to Shanghai.

Developed by Sweden's Icehotel company, the first ice bar was unveiled in the Swedish city of Jukkasjarvi in 1994. Others later opened in Stockholm, Milan, London, Tokyo and Copenhagen.

(China Daily 05/29/2007 page5)