A hotel with a Tibetan-style pavilion on its roof will join the shopping malls and department stores of Shanghai's Xujiahui area, company and district officials said yesterday.

Its backers expect the 23-story Tibet Xin'an Mansion to serve as a center for travelers drawn to the popular shopping area when the hotel is completed next year.

They also hope it will become an attraction in its own right and facilitate their business dealings in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Shanghai Xin'an (Group) Enterprises Co Ltd, which makes biological medicines and nonwoven fabrics for medical use as well as dabbling in real estate, owns 70 percent of the 300 million-yuan (US$36.1 million) project.

Hainan Xinlong Nonwovens Corp has a 20 percent stake, and Tibet Mansion Co Ltd, which is backed by the Tibetan government, holds 10 percent.

With a total construction area of 23,910 square meters, the rectangular white building will house a four-star hotel with 330 rooms.

At its top, under a curved golden roof, will be a 300-square-meter exhibition center showcasing Tibetan culture and a restaurant or teahouse, Shanghai Xin'an executive Shen Dingyun said.

Shen said the hotel will be managed by a foreign management group, which he declined to identify.

"The project is the first step of our cooperation with the Tibetan authorities," he said, adding that Shanghai Xin'an's strategy is in line with a government drive to develop western China.

The company hopes to apply modern technology to traditional Tibetan medicine and explore tourist opportunities in Tibet, according to Jiang Chen, an official of the Xuhui District Housing and Land Administrative Bureau.

( eastday.com September 11, 2002)