InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland
Product brand
UnclaimedA luxury InterContinental hotel built into an abandoned quarry in Songjiang, Shanghai, notable for its subterranean architecture and underwater guest rooms.
Last updated October 12, 2026
Overview
InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is a luxury hotel and earthscraper in Songjiang District, Shanghai, developed by Shimao Group and operated under IHG's InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand. The property occupies a former open-pit quarry approximately 50 kilometres from central Shanghai. Rather than treating the quarry as an obstacle, the project incorporates the exposed rock face, an artificial lake and the site's extreme vertical conditions into the hotel experience. The building extends for 18 stories, with most levels below the original ground line and only two floors projecting above the quarry rim. Its design follows an S-shaped configuration that alternates convex and concave forms around a vertical atrium. Guest-room wings, planted terraces and the quarry wall are arranged to create a sequence of hanging-garden effects. A large glazed atrium is designed to evoke a waterfall, while a glass walkway projects from the quarry cliff high above the ground. The hotel contains 337 rooms and suites, including rooms on an underwater level facing a large aquarium. Its facilities include restaurants, cafés, conference space for up to 1,000 people, a grand ballroom and views of the quarry lake and rock face. The project was conceived as more than an accommodation property: plans also included visitor facilities and extreme-sports-related experiences, linking the hotel to the wider tourism development of the site. The concept was developed through a collaboration involving designer Martin Jochman and JADE+QA, with Atkins involved in the earlier design process. ECADI handled local architectural development, structural design, construction documentation and mechanical, electrical and plumbing design. Cheng Chung Design and AB Concept worked on interiors, while Illuminate Lighting Design served as lighting consultant. The design was shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival in 2009. The project experienced substantial delays before design and construction accelerated from 2013 onward. Fit-out work took place in 2017, and the hotel began operations on 20 November 2018. Its opening made it one of Shanghai's most distinctive destination hotels and an internationally recognized example of adaptive construction in a former industrial landscape. The property is positioned at the intersection of luxury hospitality, architectural tourism and engineered landscape reuse, with its quarry setting serving as the central element of the guest proposition.
History
InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland was developed as a flagship hotel project in China under the Shimao Wonderland InterContinental concept. The site was an abandoned quarry in Songjiang, Shanghai, whose depth and exposed stone walls created both engineering constraints and the defining visual identity of the finished property. Instead of filling or concealing the excavation, the development placed the hotel within it and used the quarry's geometry as the framework for rooms, public spaces, landscaping and water features. The project's design concept was led by Martin Jochman. The concept and façade design work was associated first with Atkins and later with Jochman's Shanghai practice, JADE+QA. ECADI served as the local architectural firm, undertaking design development, construction documentation, structural work and mechanical, electrical and plumbing coordination. Cheng Chung Design and AB Concept were responsible for interior design, while Illuminate Lighting Design advised on illumination. The proposal was shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival in 2009, helping establish the project as an internationally discussed architectural experiment before completion. Development was not straightforward. The project encountered numerous delays before 2013, reflecting the complexity of building a large hospitality structure in a deep former quarry. From 2013, however, design and construction progressed more rapidly. The quarry was partly filled with water to form an artificial lake, while the building was organized into an S-shaped composition that moves between convex and concave curves. The plan placed 18 stories within the site, including 16 levels below ground and two levels above the quarry's rim. Two projected underwater floors were incorporated into the scheme. The architecture was intended to create a vertical landscape. Hanging gardens were planned along the descending faces of the building, producing the impression of a planted hill extending into the quarry. A tall glazed atrium was designed to resemble an artificial waterfall and became one of the project's most recognizable interior elements. A glass walkway extends from the quarry cliff at a high elevation, giving visitors a direct view of the excavation and the surrounding development. Fit-out work was carried out in 2017. The completed hotel opened on 20 November 2018 and was managed by InterContinental Hotels Group under the InterContinental brand. It contains 337 rooms, including underwater accommodation facing an aquarium, as well as restaurants, cafés, event facilities, a grand ballroom and conference capacity for up to 1,000 people. The property also incorporated visitor-oriented and recreational elements associated with the wider quarry destination. The hotel's importance lies in the way its commercial identity and physical setting are inseparable. Its luxury positioning is supported by the InterContinental brand, but its principal differentiation comes from the repurposed quarry, subterranean room inventory, water-facing spaces and engineered landscape. The property is therefore marketed and discussed both as a hotel and as an architectural attraction. Its opening established it as a distinctive example of hospitality development in a former industrial site and a prominent destination within Shanghai's broader tourism offering.
- 2018
Hotel opens to guests
[1]InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland began operations on 20 November 2018.
- 2017
Hotel fit-out work takes place
[1]Interior fit-out work was carried out as the quarry hotel moved toward completion.
- 2013
Design and construction accelerate
[1]After substantial delays in the earlier development period, the project entered a more active phase of design and construction from 2013.
- 2009
Design shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival
[1]The proposed quarry hotel was shortlisted for an award at the World Architecture Festival, bringing early international attention to its unusual architectural concept.
Products and positioning
An architectural destination hotel combining InterContinental luxury hospitality with an extraordinary subterranean quarry setting.
Hotel accommodation · 2018
Luxury guest rooms and suites
The property offers 337 rooms and suites distributed through a largely subterranean structure. Accommodation is designed around views of the quarry wall, artificial lake, landscaped terraces and internal architectural features. The room inventory combines conventional luxury-hotel functions with the unusual spatial conditions created by the former quarry.
Specialty accommodation · 2018
Underwater guest rooms
An upper underwater level includes guest rooms positioned beside a deep aquarium. These rooms are among the hotel's most distinctive offerings, using aquatic views as an experiential extension of the quarry's artificial lake and the building's below-ground design.
Food and beverage · 2018
Restaurants and cafés
The hotel includes restaurants and cafés serving guests and visitors within the quarry complex. Food-and-beverage spaces form part of the property's destination proposition, with selected areas oriented toward the quarry, aquarium or other architectural features.
Events and hospitality services · 2018
Meetings, conferences and ballroom
Event facilities include a grand ballroom and conference capacity for up to 1,000 people. These facilities extend the hotel's commercial role beyond leisure accommodation into meetings, banquets and larger organized events.
Tourism and visitor experience · 2018
Quarry architectural experience
The property itself functions as a visitor attraction through its former quarry setting, artificial lake, hanging-garden concept, waterfall-like atrium and elevated glass walkway. These features provide a destination experience closely tied to the hotel's architecture and landscape.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2018
Launch of InterContinental Shanghai WonderlandProduct launchBackground
After years of design, construction and site engineering in the abandoned quarry, the property was prepared for operation under the InterContinental brand.
Action taken
The hotel began operations on 20 November 2018 with luxury rooms, specialty underwater accommodation, restaurants, event facilities and quarry-based visitor experiences.
Aftermath
The opening established the property as an internationally recognized architectural hotel and a distinctive tourism destination in Shanghai.
2013
Resume accelerated development of the quarry hotelStrategyBackground
The project had experienced significant delays before 2013. The development team subsequently advanced the design and construction process, retaining the core concept of embedding a luxury hotel in the abandoned quarry.
Action taken
Design and construction proceeded at a faster pace from 2013, leading to fit-out work in 2017 and the eventual opening in 2018.
Aftermath
The decision resulted in a completed destination hotel whose subterranean form, underwater rooms and quarry landscape became its principal points of differentiation.
Recent events
- 2018
InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland begins operations[1]
Product launch
The quarry hotel in Songjiang, Shanghai, opened to guests on 20 November 2018 after a prolonged development and construction process.
- 2018
Quarry hotel becomes an international architecture and tourism landmark[1]
Other
The completed hotel attracted international attention for placing most of its floors below ground and incorporating underwater rooms into an abandoned quarry.
Sources3 sources
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