Jinjiang channels old-time charms

The Jinjiang Hotel seems to improve with age, basking in its Art Deco design and the prestige that comes from striding the apex of Shanghai's life for eight decades.

Nestled in a breezy crook of Shanghai's former French Concession, the property's international flavor comes courtesy of Victor Sassoon, an Iraqi-Jewish tycoon and real-estate active in Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s.

In the late 1920s, Sassoon commissioned the construction of an 18-story residential hotel modeled after luxury high-rises in the United States. When completed in 1929, the Cathay Mansions, named for Sassoon's Cathay Land Company, stood as the tallest building in Shanghai.

Sassoon upped the ante in the early 1930s to build a more elaborate Art Deco tower named Grosvenor Mansions that boasted sprawling gardens.

Today that building is called Grosvenor House and its serviced apartments remain among the most desirable residences in Shanghai, says Zhang Qian, general manager of the Jinjiang Hotel. Residents include local celebrities, foreign diplomats and business executives.

"VIPs feel at ease here, because we specialize in hosting them," he says. "The apartments also have great character. They are spacious and bright, with beautiful appointments."

Another distinct aspect of the Jinjiang Hotel is the experience of its staff members, many who have worked at the property for more than 30 years, Qian says.

The story of the contemporary Jinjiang Hotel complex begins with a Shanghainese entrepreneur named Dong Zhujun.

Dong was a mistress of a Kuomintang officer who returned to Shanghai to open a teahouse and Sichuan restaurant, both of which she named after Chengdu's Jinjiang River. Because of her reputation for hospitality and close ties with local government leaders, Dong took over management of the Cathay Mansions and moved her restaurant and teahouse there.

In 1951, the property was renamed the Jinjiang Hotel and became the nation's first official State guest house.

"The history of this hotel could be made into a television series," Qian says.

If so, one of the key episodes would take place during former US president Richard Nixon's February 1972 visit to China. On the final day of that historic sojourn, the Shanghai Communique was signed in the Jinjiang Hotel's Grand Hall, which marked a watershed in Sino-US relations.

As China embarked on sweeping economic reforms in the late 1970s, the Jinjiang Hotel witnessed a slew of other Shanghai debuts, Qian says.

"The first Western-style supermarket was opened here, along with the first photo lab that could process color film and Shanghai's first contemporary nightclub - then called a 'disco'."

While all of those businesses have since moved on, the Jinjiang Hotel's serviced apartments are full, with a waiting list that extends far into the foreseeable future.