--- title: Shanghai's New (and Improved) Peace Hotel description: At the height of Shanghai's hedonistic heyday in the 1930s, the Bund was the city's most fashionable address and the Cathay Hotel its glamorous epicenter.... canonical: https://time.com/archive/6938444/shanghais-new-and-improved-peace-hotel/ author: Justin Bergman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2010-10-21T04:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-22T07:28:05.153Z og:title: Shanghai's New (and Improved) Peace Hotel og:description: At the height of Shanghai's hedonistic heyday in the 1930s, the Bund was the city's most fashionable address and the Cathay Hotel its glamorous epicenter.... og:url: https://time.com/archive/6938444/shanghais-new-and-improved-peace-hotel/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3624f014e6a7ebe/698a4f69096a94c3fd6afd2a/360_tga_hotel_1101.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 360 og:image:height: 203 og:image:alt: 360_tga_hotel_1101.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Shanghai's New (and Improved) Peace Hotel twitter:description: At the height of Shanghai's hedonistic heyday in the 1930s, the Bund was the city's most fashionable address and the Cathay Hotel its glamorous epicenter.... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3624f014e6a7ebe/698a4f69096a94c3fd6afd2a/360_tga_hotel_1101.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Shanghai's New (and Improved) Peace Hotel > Sponsored content. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=4970a1db-921e-458b-8364-0c47069485ec&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=4970a1db-921e-458b-8364-0c47069485ec&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) by [Justin Bergman](https://time.com/author/justin-bergman/) Oct 21, 2010 4:00 AM UTC  Peace offering The restoration of many original features is part of the hotel's renewed appeal Peace offering The restoration of many original features is part of the hotel's renewed appeal Courtesy of Fairmont Hotels by [Justin Bergman](https://time.com/author/justin-bergman/) Oct 21, 2010 4:00 AM UTC At the height of Shanghai’s hedonistic heyday in the 1930s, the Bund was the city’s most fashionable address and the Cathay Hotel its glamorous epicenter. Opened in 1929 by real estate magnate Victor Sassoon, the Cathay rivaled the finest Asian hotels like the Peninsula in Hong Kong and Raffles in Singapore; it attracted celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin and Noël Coward, who wrote _Private Lives_ there in four days while recovering from the flu. Then came decline: after the revolution, the communists requisitioned the property as office space for several years, before renaming it the Peace Hotel in 1956 and using it to accommodate visiting party apparatchiks from the Soviet bloc. After China’s economic liberalization, it became a midrange tourist hotel, attracting foreign travelers interested in a slice of Shanghai’s past. That bygone era is now being much more vividly evoked, however. After a three-year renovation, the hotel reopened under new management last summer. Many of the public areas of the Fairmont Peace Hotel, as it’s now called, replicate the Sassoon original. In the lobby, the designers removed a false ceiling to reveal a breathtaking 15-m atrium with a copper and yellow-tinted-glass skylight. Original Art Deco flourishes, such as the copper chandeliers and ornate grillwork and moldings, have been refurbished. The Dragon Phoenix Restaurant, which serves both local and Cantonese fare, was returned to its over-the-top former glory, complete with deep red columns, sea-foam-blue walls and golden carvings in the coffered ceiling. And in the ballroom — once the scene of Sassoon’s legendary costume parties — the hotel has refinished the sprung timber dance floor to give bounce to a new generation of fox-trotters. [(See 10 things to do in Shanghai.)](https://www.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1851908,00.html) The 270 guestrooms have also received a head-to-toe makeover, blending period-inspired furnishings and fittings with modern amenities such as flat-screen TVs, Bose sound systems and Illy espresso machines. Bathrooms feature claw-foot tubs, Noir St. Laurent floors and Miller Harris bath products. If he were able to return, Coward would no doubt be inspired to produce another great work — and this time linger more than a mere four days. Rates start at $345 for a standard room and $1,050 for a suite. For more information, go to [fairmont.com/peacehotel](https://www.fairmont.com/peacehotel/). [See 25 authentic Asian experiences.](https://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1934455%5F1934447,00.html) _Got an awful travel gripe? The Avenger may be able to sort it out for you._ [Click here to tell us your problem.](https://www.time.com/time/travel/avenger/form) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6938444/shanghais-new-and-improved-peace-hotel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6938444/shanghais-new-and-improved-peace-hotel/"},"headline":"Shanghai's New (and Improved) Peace Hotel","datePublished":"2010-10-21T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-22T07:28:05.153Z","description":"At the height of Shanghai's hedonistic heyday in the 1930s, the Bund was the city's most fashionable address and the Cathay Hotel its glamorous epicenter....","url":"https://time.com/archive/6938444/shanghais-new-and-improved-peace-hotel/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3624f014e6a7ebe/698a4f69096a94c3fd6afd2a/360_tga_hotel_1101.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Bergman","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-bergman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3624f014e6a7ebe/698a4f69096a94c3fd6afd2a/360_tga_hotel_1101.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"360_tga_hotel_1101.jpg","caption":"Peace offering The restoration of many original features is part of the hotel's renewed appeal","creditText":"Courtesy of Fairmont Hotels","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6938444/shanghais-new-and-improved-peace-hotel/","name":"Shanghai's New (and Improved) Peace Hotel"}}]}] ```