Shimao Group plans to build the world's deepest below-the- ground-level hotel in Shanghai's Songjiang District, a company official said.

The hotel, which will have about 300 rooms, will be built in an existing 100-meter-deep pit near the Tianma Mountain, the highest among the nine mountains in Songjiang, which is about 40 minutes by car from the city center, according to Qian Wai, a spokesman for the company.

The 240-meter-long and 160-meter-wide pit has about 20 meters of deep water, which means part of the hotel will be under water. Shimao said it plans to site a restaurant and cafe under water.

The company also plans to develop an area of 100,000 square meters around the pit including a shopping mall and a recreation park that offers extreme sports such as rock climbing and bungee jumping, according to the latest issue of its internal publication which introduced the project.

Shimao, which built its fame by developing luxury residences in big cities, plans to allocate 15 percent of its landbank in the future for commercial properties such as shops, hotels and offices.

Xu Shitan, executive director of Shimao Group and son of Xu Rongmao, said the company will build 10 more five-star hotels across the mainland in the next three to five years.

Source:佚名