A commemorative event, which will be attended by The Hon. Michael D. Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, and Mr. Wang Ming Quan, Chairman and President of China Everbright Group, will take place on September 18th to mark this milestone in the history of the hotel.
Since the hotel`s opening in 1989, The Peninsula Palace Hotel Beijing has been the premier hotel in the Chinese capital for business and leisure, and the venue of choice for important events and celebrations. The Peninsula Hotels has managed The Peninsula Palace Hotel since 1992, and with the completion of the joint venture restructuring and a US$27 million renovation, the hotel is once again in the spotlight in the capital with a strategic refurbishment program giving the hotel a totally new look while the name change aligns it with sister Peninsula Hotels.

A new Chinese restaurant Huang Ting, redesigned club floors and a dramatic new entrance have been added to the hotel, in addition to a range of new facilities. These new features include the opening of the award-winning JING western restaurant, a new lobby lounge, remodeled hotel lobby, expanded commercial and retail space featuring 50 of the world`s top brands, new banquet facilities and newly renovated rooms and suites equipped with state- of-the-art in-room Peninsula technology.

“The booming economy and attraction of China as a long-term, high- frequency destination together with the promise of the 2008 Beijing Olympics has been drawing global attention to the country. The name change, along with the rebranding of the hotel is perfectly timed,” says General Manager Donald J. Harrington.

“Over the eleven years of Peninsula management, we have successfully embodied Peninsula operating and cultural standards with a very active staff cross-training programme between The Peninsula Hong Kong and The Peninsula Palace Hotel Beijing, enabling us to offer our guests experiences of exceptional quality. The name change benefits the hotel both locally and abroad ¬C the instant name recognition of `Peninsula` puts us in an excellent position to expand in overseas markets, while `Wang Fu Fan Dian` enables us to continue to capitalise on this well-established nationally-famous brand in the domestic market,” says Mr. Harrington.

In conjunction with the renovation and name change, The Peninsula Palace Beijing will soon enjoy better accessibility than ever. Already just a short walk away from the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Wangfujing shopping district, the centrally located Peninsula Palace will connect directly to one of Beijing`s new main roads - the Second Ring Road - later this year, enabling guests to travel to all major districts of the city easily and rapidly.

Under Peninsula management, The Peninsula Palace Hotel has received numerous accolades and awards, with the most recent being named by “Travel + Leisure” magazine (USA) as Beijing`s top business hotel in their “World`s Best Business Hotels” survey (September 2003). “Travel + Leisure” also honoured The Peninsula Palace as one of the “Top 25 hotels in Asia Pacific” (August 2003), while JING was chosen as one of the 75 “World`s Hottest Tables Restaurant” by Conde Nast Traveler (USA) in May 2003 ¬C the only hotel and restaurant respectively in the PRC.

The Peninsula and parent company The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited have a long history in China - originally incorporated in 1866 as The Hongkong Hotels, Limited, the company changed its name to The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited in 1923 after it acquired 85 per cent of The Shanghai Hotels Limited. The latter owned The Palace (which today forms a part of the Peace Hotel) and Astor House hotels in Shanghai as well as a sizeable interest in the Grand Hotel des Wagon-Lits in Beijing. In 1924, the purchase of the Majestic Hotel gave the company ownership of three of the most magnificent hotels in Shanghai.

The legendary Peninsula Hong Kong, opened in December 1928, was built with the vision of being “the finest hotel east of Suez”. From the moment the first guest arrived, The Peninsula name has been synonymous with welcoming the rich, the famous, the titled and the tycoon with an embrace of unsurpassed luxury and warmth for more than seven decades.

After the Second World War, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited dissolved its interests on the mainland and The Peninsula Hong Kong assumed the mantle of company flagship.

The Company`s return to the mainland began in 1982 when it became the first foreign hotel group to be invited to manage local hotels. In addition to the Jianguo Hotel in Beijing, it also undertook management of The Garden Hotel in Guangzhou and The Portman in Shanghai. In 1990 it acquired the management contract for The Peninsula Palace Beijing and subsequently acquired a stake in the property in 1992.

From one hotel, The Peninsula Hotels has grown to encompass eight award- winning properties with a total of 3,200 rooms in key gateway cities of Asia and the USA - Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok, Beijing, New York, Beverly Hills and Chicago. Then as now, all efforts were dedicated to providing luxurious comfort, modern facilities and intuitive technology combined with exceptional, personalized service.

The prominence and well-regarded reputation of The Peninsula brand of hotels around the world reflect the company`s success in setting the highest standards of service and hospitality in the industry as it continues to realize the vision begun by the launch of its Hong Kong flagship more than seven decades ago.

The Peninsula Palace Beijing is managed by The Peninsula Hotels which operates luxury hotels in key gateways of Asia and the USA. The group is a division of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited. The Peninsula Hotels include: The Peninsula Hong Kong; The Peninsula New York; The Peninsula Chicago; The Peninsula Beverly Hills; The Peninsula Bangkok; The Peninsula Palace Beijing; The Peninsula Manila; The Kowloon Hotel Hong Kong.

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