Chapter 29: Peace Hotel

"Mm!" Lin Yi expressed his agreement:

"And this puff pastry strip tastes quite good too!"

Han Han Han Yajing immediately took a piece as well, popped it into her pink little mouth, and her beautiful eyes instantly lit up,

looking at Lin Yi with a sense of kindred spirits meeting.

After the two of them had walked around for a while, Han Han Han Yajing held a skewer of candied hawthorn strawberries in her left hand and a Shanghai snack in her right.

She looked entirely like a little foodie.

Her ladylike image had vanished completely; instead, Lin Yi felt this version of Beauty Han was more genuine,

otherwise, he always felt her face resembled that of a fairy who never touched mortal food.

Next, the two visited Wing On Department Store.

With a history of over a century, one could say Wing On Department Store ushered in Shanghai's modern era,

where celebrities once gathered and commoners flocked in droves, much like today's popular influencer hotspots.

However, Lin Yi and Beauty Han had only come to experience the presence of this century-old store and did not buy anything.

In the following period, the two went to the nearby Shen Da Cheng to buy some specialty pastries as souvenirs for their dormitory roommates.

This time, the two were quite tacitly understanding, each buying their own items separately.

At noon, they went to Hongyi International Plaza.

Inside, the two ate two bowls of hand-rolled spinach noodles.

The entirely handmade noodles were very chewy; even for southerners, they tasted quite delicious.

However, apart from eating noodles, our beauty Han wore a mask the entire time.

Otherwise, another frenzy of star-chasing would have erupted on Nanjing Road.

"This is the Peace Hotel!" Han Han Han Yajing said excitedly.

"Mm!" Lin Yi looked at the hotel before him, brimming with historical sense, and felt somewhat emotional as well.

Some say that outsiders who do not visit the Bund have not truly come to Magic City, and those who do not visit the Peace Hotel have not truly come to the Bund.

In 1995, Hong Kong film star Chow Yun-fat starred in an action movie titled "Peace Hotel."

In the film, Chow Yun-fat played the Killer King, who opened a Peace Hotel and used it as a sanctuary.

Anyone who checked into the Peace Hotel, regardless of what misdeeds they had committed, was guaranteed safety by Chow Yun-fat as long as they did not leave.

However, after filming "Peace Hotel," Chow Yun-fat left Hong Kong to pursue his career in Hollywood, only returning in 2005.

"Peace Hotel" was the last film Chow Yun-fat made before leaving Hong Kong, holding particular significance.

Of course, the Peace Hotel in the movie is fictional and does not exist in real life.

Yet, on the distant shores of Magic City, there stands a real Peace Hotel. In fact, the actual Peace Hotel possesses an even more legendary color.

Located at No. 20 Nanjing East Road in Huangpu District, Magic City, the Peace Hotel faces across the river the Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone in Pudong and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.

This hotel was once the first modern-style building in the history of modern architecture in Magic City, hailed as the "Number One Building in the Far East," standing on the turbulent Bund for over a century.

The Peace Hotel consists of two parts: the North Building and the South Building.

The predecessor of the South Building was the Palace Hotel, while the predecessor of the North Building was the Cathay Hotel.

The Palace Hotel boasts a long history, originally named the "Central Hotel."

As early as 1854, shortly after Magic City opened its port, the British constructed this three-story building,

which was the most luxurious Central Hotel in Magic City at the time. In 1865, when the British HSBC Bank established a branch in Magic City, it rented rooms in the Central Hotel to conduct business.

In 1895, the British merchant firm Palace Hotel Company purchased the Central Hotel, renamed it the "Palace Hotel," and continued operations.

By the early 20th century, the Palace Hotel had been operating for over half a century and showed signs of wear. The Palace Hotel Company decided to demolish the old Central Hotel building and reconstruct a new one.

In 1908, the reconstructed Palace Hotel opened for business.

The rebuilt Palace Hotel was designed by foreign engineers and constructed by the Wang Fa Ji Construction Factory.

Wang Fa Ji Construction Factory was a Dragon Nation company.

The Municipal Council of the International Settlement did not believe Dragon Nation people could undertake such a large-scale hotel project and hesitated to issue a license.

Finally, under the guarantee of the famous construction designer Yang Shisheng, Wang Fa Ji Construction Factory secured the project.

Facts proved that Dragon Nation people could not only construct large-scale hotels but also build high-quality ones. After 111 years of wind and rain, the Palace Hotel remains intact and majestic.

The new Palace Hotel building had six floors, featuring a brick-and-wood mixed structure, with a total height of 30 meters, occupying 2,125 square meters, and a floor area of 11,607 square meters. Inside, there were 120 suites, each equipped with independent sanitary facilities.

The ground floor housed a large dining hall capable of seating over 300 people simultaneously. The Palace Hotel was then the tallest building on the Magic City Bund and the first to install elevators and a rooftop garden; its luxurious decoration made it famous for a time, primarily hosting figures from the financial and commercial sectors as well as social elites from various nations.

The Palace Hotel witnessed many modern historical events.

In 1909, representatives from Dragon Nation, Britain, the United States, France, and other countries convened the International Opium Commission at the Palace Hotel.

In 1911, the Dragon Nation Tongmenghui held a grand meeting at the Palace Hotel. The famous slogan, "The revolution is not yet successful; comrades must still strive," was proposed during this assembly.

Many famous Chinese and foreign figures visited the Palace Hotel.

The British playwright Noël Coward wrote his masterpiece "Private Lives" while staying at the Palace Hotel.

In the 1930s, the British literary giant George Bernard Shaw and the comedy master Charlie Chaplin visited Magic City, Dragon Nation, successively, both lodging at the Palace Hotel.

American five-star General Marshall and diplomat John Leighton Stuart both left their footprints at the Palace Hotel.

The Cathay Hotel was built slightly later, completed and opened for business in 1929. It is a Chicago School Gothic-style building, standing 77 meters tall with 12 floors.

The Cathay Hotel was the tallest modern building on the Magic City Bund at the time, hailed as the "Number One Building in the Far East," with a total construction cost exceeding 2.48 million taels of silver.

Inside the Cathay Hotel, the restaurants and lobby were decorated with opulent splendor, featuring suites representing nine nations: Britain, the United States, India, Germany, France, America, Japan, Spain, and Dragon Nation.

In 1956, the Cathay Hotel and the Palace Hotel merged, adopting the name "Peace Hotel," which it retains to this day.

One could say that the Peace Hotel is a chronicle of modern Dragon Nation history.

It requires you to turn its pages and savor its flavors carefully.

"I heard there is an elderly jazz band inside the Peace Hotel!"

Han Han Han Yajing said.

"Would you like to go listen?" Lin Yi suggested.

"Is that allowed?" Beauty Han's eyes lit up as she asked.

"Hehe!" Lin Yi directly pulled her along and entered the Peace Hotel.

Generally speaking, visiting the Peace Hotel during holidays or on special occasions requires advance reservation,

but if one is merely going to the bar to listen to the elderly jazz band, no reservation is needed.

As the two walked in, the hotel's decorative style unfolded like a historical scroll, inspiring deep reverence.

Following the waiter's directions, they arrived at the bar located in the northeast corner of the first-floor lobby.

A group of white-haired elders was playing melodious music.

However, the bar was not crowded; those who came here were mostly elderly people wishing to reminisce about the good old days.

Young people like Lin Yi and Beauty Han were almost nonexistent here.

Therefore, their arrival attracted the attention of some formally dressed older men and women.

Fortunately, since Lin Yi and his companion were there only to listen to music, they quietly sat at a nearby table.

The melodious music was like a spa treatment for the ears, allowing one to completely calm down in this restless city.

It felt as though, within the music, one could forget all troubles.

And roam freely through the long river of history.

As the song ended, applause immediately erupted.

Lin Yi and Han Han Han Yajing also clapped enthusiastically.

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