The Beijing Hotel is a five-star state-owned hotel complex in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, China. It is located at the southern end of Wangfujing Street, at the corner with East Chang'an Avenue, 1.5 km from Beijing railway station with views of the Forbidden City and part of Tiananmen Square.[1]
Overview
The first wing of the Grand Hôtel de Pékin, a five-story red brick structure, was completed in 1915.[2] A second wing, today known as Block B, was completed in 1917, making the hotel one of the oldest in Beijing.[3] In 1933 Zhang Jingyao was shot in the building by an assassin. Following the July 7 incident in 1937, the hotel was taken over by Japanese forces and later by the Kuomintang government.[4] Later, the banquet hall served guests such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai at the inauguration of the People's Republic.[4]
A new wing was added on the west side of the 1917 wing of the Beijing Hotel in 1954, it is today known as Block C.[2] The original red brick 1915 wing was demolished for the construction of Block D, on the east, in 1974.[2]
Significance
Many foreign journalists were based in the hotel during the spring of 1989. This was the site where Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener took the famous "Tank Man or Unknown Rebel" picture during the Tiananmen Square protests. According to journalist Zhang Boli, the last meetings between the students and government took place at the hotel on May 30, 1989, where no agreement was reached.[8]
See also
- List of hotels in Beijing
Gallery
External links
References
- Chinoy, M. China Live: People Power and the Television Revolution. Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8476-9318-4.^
- Beijing Hotel Official Website^
- Harper, D. Beijing. Lonely Planet, 2005. ISBN 978-1-74059-782-1.^
- Official website History