**Gehua New Century Hotel Beijing, First Media-Themed Hotel in Beijing

Ideally located in the heart of Beijing’s Olympic Park and the business district at the North Third Ring Road, most of the Gehua New Century Hotel Beijing’s 353 guest rooms command spectacular views of the iconic Olympic “Bird’s Nest” and the landmark “Water Cube.” The hotel has been appointed as the InternationalMediaCenterfor the 2008 Olympic Games, serving more than 25,000 non-accredited journalists from around the globe. According to Gan Shenghong, the hotel’s general manager, they will retain the hotel’s unique media-oriented features after the Games, making it the first media-themed hotel in Beijing, while providing media-friendly facilities and services. This cultural and media theme is best reflected in the hotel’s Sunshine Bar and International Media Hall.

The Sunshine Bar is a media-club bar decked in a fashionable and charming style. An ideal place to unwind and relax with a selection of pastries, snacks and cocktails with cool chocolate martinis, nightly live-music can be expected: even Perking Opera! A selection of exquisite matured cigars and plenty of premium wines and whiskey are enjoyable for media friends to gather together. A Cultural Corridor will be connected to the bar where art exhibitions and speeches will be held to add to the cultural atmosphere of the whole hotel.

The hotel also takes pride in its 1,200-sqaure-metre International Media Hall with a height of 5.85 meters and with additional foyer space of 300 square metres, a size the city seldom sees. A wide range of high-end communications equipment and the latest high-tech facilities meet every requirement for press releases and meetings.

The Gehua New Century Hotel Beijing is the first hotel the New Century Tourism Group funded in Beijing. Entering the hospitality industry in Hangzhouin 1988, the group has 23 branch hotels across the country. “This strengthens our confidence for the tough task of serving the Games,” Gan said, “even though the hotel won’t be soft-opened until mid-March, we shall receive full support from our sister hotels, from materials to staff members.” When asked why the group’s next development plan involves a move from South China to Beijing, Gan said that with Beijingbeing the centre of the country’s finance and politics, it is impossible for the group to become an international enterprise without a presence in Beijing. “We will open two hotels in Beijingthis year, another in Xuanwu District,” said Gan. “ We expect that by 2010 the group will have 35 hotels with more than 10,000 guest rooms, which will rank the group among the world’s top-100 hotel management groups.”