New Luxury Hotel: World's lowest skyscraper opens in Shanghai

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02:45

You can now visit the land down under without going to Australia. The world's first underground hotel has opened its doors in Shanghai. Built nearly 100 meters below the ground, it has attracted many locals and outsiders to live a high life as low down as possible. CGTN's Han Peng reports.

HAN PENG SHANGHAI "It's perfect for a low-key visit down under China's largest city. This 19-story luxury hotel is the world's lowest skyscraper, or more precisely, an 'earth scraper'. With only two stories above ground, people on the other 17 floors pay over 600 US dollars per night for a view of a giant pit."

Xu Hongduo and her friend are lucky enough to be two of the hotel's earliest customers. In fact, they're both based right here in Shanghai. They're staying here for the afternoon, grabbing a midday coffee beneath the weekend's sunny weather. Xu, like many Shanghainese, says she's curious about fancy novelties.

She's been waiting more than 10 years for this establishment's grand unveiling.

XU HONGDUO HOTEL CUSTOMER "It's very unique that when you look out the window, it's neither a blue sky nor an ocean, but a high cliff. I've always tried to imagine what the hotel would look like. I feel like it's a place full of stories."

The hotel, located in suburban Shanghai, was a quarry 20 years ago. After the resources were exhausted, the location was slated to become a waste landfill. But as China tightened its environmental pollution controls, Shanghai decided to build something even the miners couldn't imagine.

"In 2005, the hotel was planned to be built on this site." "You know, the quarry is almost 100 meters deep. How could this be possible?" "I thought it was impossible. But it's been completed." "We didn't expect to see such an impressive hotel."

The chief engineer says there's no similar project anywhere around the world. Installing ventilation, lighting, fireproof and earthquake-resistance systems, were just some of the first few challenges encountered.

CHEN XIAOXIANG, CHIEF ENGINEER SHIMAO QUARRY HOTEL "Each day, new difficulties emerged as construction went on. Our success in solving all of these obstacles has provided some valuable experience for others to make better use of similar pits around the world."

A once ugly scar turned into a beautiful infrastructure miracle, bringing a fancy experience to locals and visitors alike. Han Peng, CGTN, Shanghai.