My Fav Places - Jin Mao, Grand Hyatt, Shanghai, China

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As those who follow my work already know, I have been traveling to China on a nearly annual basis since the early 1980’s to pursue the translation of my photographic imagery into hand-stitched embroideries that range from small table top pieces and wall hangings, to complex multi-panel screens that take many years to complete.

To better know and appreciate Chinese culture, I have done a lot of traveling within China to get a feel for its vast and varied population and its far-flung cities and landscapes. My journeys have taken me into tiny rural villages at the edge of steaming jungles, up spectacular mountains, and into the heart of its humanity in cities like Beijing, Guanzhou and Shanghai. I have walked on the Great Wall, floated on the Grand Canal and bicycled with 100,000 close friends around West Lake (Hangzhou) on holiday. I have not seen it all (nor will I ever) but some places I come back to time and again because my experiences there are so rewarding. If you are inclined to visit China, or are an armchair traveler, I thought you might enjoy learning about some of these locations, too.

On The Bund in Shanghai looking across the river at the Pudong financial district where the Jin Mao tower and the Grand Hyatt hotel are located. 
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

Shanghai is the definition of over-the-top. With a city population estimated at over 22 million, it is more first world than the first world, yet all of that trendiness is served by pedal rickshaws and homes full of families living on so little actual income the western mind can not even imagine the lifestyle. These contrasts are exactly what give Shanghai its edge - fashionista princesses decked out in Shanghai Tang clothes, carrying Louis Vuitton bags walk past old women with leaf brooms sweeping the streets, or red Maseratis navigate streets lined with homes that date back hundreds, or perhaps even thousands. Traffic chaos and driving maneuvers are unimaginable. Buildings defy reality. Food cannot be explained, nor does it need to be as it is generally quite delicious (as long as you eat Chinese and not some horrible international hotel buffet).

And, presentation is everything! That goes for hotels especially.

The Jin Mao Tower in the Pudong financial district of Shanghai. The Grand Hyatt hotel occupies the 54th-99th floors. 
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

Shanghai has more fine hotels than you could ever take in, and most of the new ones are astoundingly opulent, while the old ones are at least elegant, so I am sure there will be plenty of people who have visited this city that will want to argue with me and suggest other locations - but this is my blog! I do not doubt the excellence of other establishments and have stayed in plenty of them, but the Jin Mao Tower that houses the Grand Hyatt, is my choice for reasons more ephemeral than just the hotel itself. The Jin Mao Tower is a spectacle of architecture.

The Grand Hyatt has all of the pre-requisites for a world-class hotel in Shanghai even though it is older by some years than most of the surrounding sky-rise: multiple good restaurants, great and courteous service, dazzling presentation, a spa/exercise complex to be enjoyed, and hi-tech guest rooms that take some work to figure out what all the buttons do. The dramatic lobby greats you with “the view” on the 54th floor, and rooms range up into the 90’s. You can always have desert later in the evening in the Cloud 9 Bar on the 99th floor.

Looking up from the 77th floor towards the floors ranging into the 90's. 
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

Looking down into the Grand Hyatt lobby (54th floor) from the 77th floor. 
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

Art is everywhere as are astounding floral displays, but this Chinese gothic chrome-glass building was built for the view, and there is never a time in your room, in the restaurants, in the bars and lounges, or even when you are buck-naked in the spa that you cannot see the world of Shanghai and the sinews of the river sprawling before you in every direction.

Orchid display in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt, Shanghai. 
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

The Jin Mao building was built by THE CHINESE to be the tallest CHINESE building in the world. I say CHINESE because that was a mandate of its design. The design was spawned by a heated competition that was intended to emphasize new-China-style as Shanghai grew into its stunning 1st-world presence as we know it today. The final design selection involved an innovative exterior skeleton of steel rods and fins that adorn the glass house and steal beam internal frame. It is these rods and fins that give the building its gothic feeling, especially when lit at night. It is also these fins and beams that literally “howl” during the raging winds of typhoons and make the rooms somewhat less quiet.

The Jin Mao building/Grand Hyatt hotel (foreground) and the new, taller Park Hyatt (background), Shanghai.             
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

The tallest-building-in-the-world thing did not last long as within months of completion the Jin Mao was exceeded by the Twin Towers in Kuala Lampur (and now newer buildings in many other locations, including the new Park Hyatt, across the street from the Grand Hyatt) but the Grand Hyatt design remains unique, weirdly beautiful a Chinese fortress at the waterfront edge of the new Pudong financial district.

Chinese Gothic... and very tall! 
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

I personally think the restaurants are overpriced and after many years recognize the interior hints at its age in places, nonetheless I am a visual devotee and I always spend at 1-2 nights in the Grand Hyatt just to drink in the architecture, scale and glory of the hazy view of the city. I NEVER close the drapes in my room, love the gadgets that lock doors and turn out lights once I get them figured out, AND can never get enough of walking up to the structure from a distance and slowly taking in its visual power. Do yourself a favor and check this hotel out if you visit. It is well worth spending some time there. The neighboring structures are equally stunning company, and the river esplanade is just several blocks away. On a warm, balmy night the denizens of Shanghai, stroll, kiss, marvel at their astounding city reflected in the waters of the river, boggle over the electronic sign displays, and eat Hagen Das along this spectacle waterfront. You won’t regret the time spent doing it either.

As the sun rises, the hazy view from the Grand Hyatt (Shanghai) reveals the neighboring skyscraper architecture and the river beyond. 
Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY ENTIRE ALBUM (33 photos), ENTITLED "My Fav Places - Jin Mao, Grand Hyatt, Shanghai, China"

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