Source: Wikipedia, Park Hotel

Park Hotel (simplified Chinese: 国际饭店; traditional Chinese: 國際飯店; pinyin: Guójì Fàndìan; literally: "International Hotel"), historically the Shanghai Joint Savings Society Building, is an Art Deco hotel on Nanjing Road West, Shanghai, China. It was the tallest building in Asia from its completion in 1934 to 1958.

The Shanghai Joint Savings Society Building, located at No.170 Nanjing Road West, was named after the Joint Savings Society, founded in 1923 by the merger of Yienyieh Commercial Bank, Kincheng Banking corporation, the China and South Sea Bank, and the Continental Bank. It was built as a competitor for the Cathay Hotel.^[2] The building was designed by the Hungarian-Slovakian architect László Hudec^[2] in March 1931 and construction was completed in December 1934. The building is 83.8 metres tall and contains 22 stories above ground and another 2 stories underground. Built by Voh Kee Construction Company, the piling project was finished by a Danish Company established by Corrit.^[3]

Strongly inspired by the American Radiator Building, it is among the well known building from Hudec in Shanghai. It remained the tallest building in China until 1966, and in Shanghai until 1983.

On February 23, 1938, G.H. Thomas wrote: "I stayed at the Park Hotel on Bubbling Well Road, where I had a great room and bath. The appointments, the bath and the service are just like in any first-class hotel in New York. A single room such as mine costs $8 a day without food."^[4]

It was built overlooking the horse racing course owned by The Shanghai Race Club, one of the most prestigious locations in Shanghai at the time. The Shanghai Race Course and the Shanghai Recreation Ground that it enclosed was later turned into the People's Park by the Shanghai Government. Originally the Park Hotel accommodated the Joint Savings Society Bank in its lower two floors, and the hotel on the upper floors.^[2]