A well-known Anhui Province distiller opened a four-star hotel in Shanghai yesterday to cash in on the city's growing hospitality industry.

The 290-room Holiday Inn Vista Shanghai was built at a cost of more than 250 million yuan (US$30.12 million) by the Gujing Group.

Producing one of China's top-five liquor brands, Gujing is a leading Anhui taxpayer.

Distilled in the small town of Bozhou, Gujing Spirit has a history of 1,800 years and was known as an imperial tribute to Chinese emperors for many dynasties. A low-proof version of the liquor became a market success 10 years ago, making Gujing Group the fifth largest liquor producer in China. The group has fixed assets of 2.8 billion yuan and an annual income of 1.2 billion yuan.

Wang Xiaojin, Gujing Group chairman, said this was the first luxury hotel in Shanghai to be invested by an Anhui enterprise. It will serve as an interface between the inland province, Shanghai and the world at large.

The presence of a large number of officials and business leaders from Anhui underscored the importance of the new hotel in their endeavors to reach the outside world.

Holiday Inn Vista was hailed by Zhou Guoxiong, head of Shanghai's Putuo District, saying the district had never had a four-star hotel until yesterday.

"The hotel will become a landmark on the city's expanded Changshou Road and contribute to the economic development of the district," Zhou said.

Mahmood Masood, InterContinental Hotels Group vice chairman, said the Holiday Inn Vista was the fifth Shanghai property added to its corporate portfolio.

The hotel is about 10 minutes' drive from the city center.

It is especially convenient for rail travelers as it is only 3 kilometers from the Shanghai Railway Station.

(eastday.com August 12, 2003)