- Nineteen prisoners use cutlery to break out of cells at Winchester prison
- France wants progress in Ukraine before Russia returns to G7
- Italy president begins talks to seek way out of government crisis
- Italian PM expected to resign as political chaos deepens
- Russia says US cruise missile test ‘regrettable’
- Kremlin - No date set for Normandy talks on Ukraine despite Macron meeting
- Egypt court hands out 6 death sentences on terror charges
- Putin says Russian nuclear explosion poses no threat
- Russian panel eyes alleged foreign interference in protests
- Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people
- PM Johnson calls on Germany and France to compromise on Brexit
- Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial
TEHRAN, November 15 -A hotel development sunk into a disused quarry in China opened its doors Thursday to deep-pocketed clientele.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Preventing the 88-meter-deep (290 feet) pit from flooding was among the chief challenges for engineers working on the swanky 336-room InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland - part of a $288 million development that also includes a theme park.
The subterranean 17-floor hotel is about an hour's drive from the center of Shanghai, with room charges starting at 3,394 yuan ($490) a night. There is a floor of suites below the water level, but don't expect to gaze directly into the depths of Shenkeng Quarry -- the windows are instead buffered by large fish tanks.
Before construction started in 2013, for example, heavy rainfall caused a nearby river to overflow into the quarry, filling half of it. Designers built an embankment around the edge of the pit to prevent that happening in future. A pump house is used to help regulate water levels.
The waterfall is one of the development's most eye-catching features. Adventurous guests can also indulge in rock climbing. The project's masterminds talk up its environmental bona fides, saying abandoned quarries often become landfills.
China's rapid economic growth has been accompanied by a construction boom that often throws up outlandish designs. A skyscraper built this year in southwestern China features a 108-meter waterfall tumbling down one side.
(Source: AFP)
Your Comment