Centre Hotel (Nanjing)

The Centre Hotel[1][2] (Chinese: 中央饭店; pinyin: Zhōngyãng fàndiàn) building, which was built in the late 1920s, is located at No.237,[note 1] Zhongshan East Road, Nanjing, China, and it is still called the Centre Hotel today. Facing south, the 3-storey Centre Hotel is a hybrid structure building designed in Western style,[3] covering an area of 5,650 square metres and the gross floor area is 10,057 square metres. The Centre Hotel, being one of the best-known hotels in Nanjing (the capital of China during the Republic of China era) in the 1930s and 1940s, was famous for Western food. On June 10, 2006, it was listed in the third batch of Nanjing culture relics protection units.[4]

Centre Hotel
General information
AddressNo.237, Zhongshan East Road
Town or cityNanjing
CountryChina
Coordinates32.043281°N 118.792317°E / 32.043281; 118.792317
Completed1930

History

In January 1930, the Centre Hotel officially opened. The Centre Hotel hosted many celebrities over the years, such as Zhang Xueliang (Chinese: 张学良), Zhou Enlai (Chinese:周恩来), Zhu De (Chinese:朱德), Ye Jianying (Chinese: 叶剑英), Long Yun (Chinese: 龙云) (the military-political leader of Yunnan Province), Mei Lanfang (Chinese: 梅兰芳), leaders of overseas Chinese, Situ Meitang (Chinese: 司徒美堂) (the chairman of The China Zhi Gong Party) and John Leighton Stuart (US Ambassador).[5] After the fall of Nanjing, the Centre Hotel was taken over by the PLA. In 1995, the Logistics Department of Nanjing Military Region moved out the residents. In the same year, the Shandong Zhicheng (Hong Kong) Interior Design Company renovated the Centre Hotel on the basis of maintaining its original look. On August 18, the construction was completed. The Centre Hotel reopened on September 19.[5] The well-known politician Cheng Siyuan,[6] Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, provided the calligraphy for the inscription of the hotel name.

Today, the cast iron balconies of the Centre Hotel’s guest rooms facing south and streets are still in their original condition of the Republican period. The stairs, handrails, balustrades and the floor boards of most rooms stay the same. With the construction area of 10318 square metres, the Centre Hotel has 117 rooms of different kinds which are well-equipped with support facilities.[3]

Overview

Located at Xinjiekou, the central business district Nanjing, Centre Hotel today is called Nanjing Zhongyang Hotel. It has 110 total rooms and contains facilities like a Chinese restaurant, a Western restaurant, conference rooms, banquet hall, and a beauty salon. The hotel was last renovated in 2011.[7] In its hallways hang photos of olden days Nanjing and famous historical figures who has stayed at the hotel. The lobby has been maintained as it had been during Republican days. [8]

Transportation

The hotel is accessible within walking distance east of Daxinggong Station of Nanjing Metro.

Notes
  1. its original address was NO.303

Further reading
  • 李维之 (2005). "《中央饭店与首都饭店》Centre Hotel and Capital Hotel of Nanjing". 《钟山风雨》Storm Over Zhongshan. 第1期. 江苏省政协文史委员会. ISSN 1009-9077.
  • 李诚、陈子赟 (9 February 2012). "《中央饭店的前世今生》The History of Centre Hotel". 《周末报数字报刊》Weekend. 第24版 (发现南京). Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

References
  1. "中央饭店". 南京民国建筑网Nanjing Architecture of the Republic of China. Archived from the original on 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  2. 陆素洁、肖飞, ed. (2003). 民国的踪迹：南京民国建筑精华游 (The Trace of the Republic of China: Selected Architectures of Nanjing: 1912-1949) (in Chinese). 中国旅游出版社. pp. 139–141. ISBN 7-5032-2243-3.
  3. 张燕, ed. (2000). 南京民国建筑艺术 (The Art of Nanjing Architecture of the Republic of China) (in Chinese). 江苏科学技术出版社. p. 146. ISBN 7-5345-3087-3.
  4. "南京市政府关于公布第三批南京市文物保护单位的通知 (Nanjing Municipal Government on the publication of cultural relics protection units in the third installment of Nanjing)". Cpll.cn (in Chinese). 17 September 2006. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  5. 卢海鸣、杨新华, ed. (2001). 南京民国建筑 (Nanjing Architecture of the Republic of China) (in Chinese). 南京大学出版社. p. 288. ISBN 7-305-03670-6.
  6. 李诚, 陈子赟 (9 February 2012). "中央饭店的前世今生 (The History of Centre Hotel)". 周末报数字报刊 (Weekend). 第 (24) 版 (发现南京). Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. 门口大石头上, "中央饭店"四个大字, 为时任全国人大常委会副委员长程思远题写
  7. "Nanjing Zhongyang Hotel". Nanjing Zhongyang Hotel Official Site. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  8. 老新視覺. "南京中央飯店老照片（二）名人留影". 每日頭條. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
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