The China World Hotel in Beijing and three other hotels were named on Friday as the country's first group of platinum five-star hotels by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).  

The other three hotels winning the highest rating for Chinese hotels are the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, and the Shandong Plaza in Jinan, Shandong Province.  

China began rating hotels in 1988. By the end of 2005, the country had 12,024 hotels rated between one to five stars, including 279 five-star hotels, 1,146 four-star hotels and 4,376 three-star hotels.  

The NTAC revised the rating system in 2003, adding platinum five-star as its highest rating.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2006)