Chinese city downsizes for Unesco
HANGZHOU – Two leading hotels will lose their top floors in a bid by a Chinese city for World Heritage status.
The BBC reports that as well as the hotels, a TV tower and a number of other high-rise buildings around Hangzhou’s West Lake area will all be made shorter.
The US$5.8m project is to help the city become a Unesco World Heritage site, Chinese media reports.
But one of the hotels named said it was unaware of the plans.
“We haven’t received any order or any notice about it. But we’re also very concerned and will pay close attention to this,” a spokeswoman from the Shangri-La hotel told the Associated Press news agency.
Wang Shuifa, who is heading the project, told a news conference that officials wanted to lower the hotel’s east wing.
The east wing currently has seven storeys, with a penthouse presidential suite offering lakeside views costing as much as US$4,300 per night.
Wang said that the main tower of the Huabei hotel and a television tower were also among the buildings that needed to be made shorter.
Hangzhou was the capital of China in the 12th and 13th centuries and is considered to be one of the country’s most beautiful cities. Its lakeside temples and historic buildings draw large numbers of tourists each year.
Ian Jarrett
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