SOHO China - Kempinski is Going to Run Commune by the Great Wall

SOHO China has invited Kempinski Hotels & Resorts to manage Commune by the Great Wall, a renowned award-winning boutique hotel developed by SOHO China. The Agreement Signing Ceremony was held in Kempinski Hotel in Beijing on July 8. According to international common practice, both sides have agreed that SOHO China will handover the management of the commune to Kempinski, and Kempinski will bring a professional management team and global guest network to the commune. Both sides believe that this move will give a full play of the advantages of both sides and bring more business opportunities to the commune.
Pan Shiyi, Chairman & Co-CEO of SOHO China, says that SOHO China s handover of its most creative and prize-winning project Commune by the Great Wall, to Kempinski Hotel & Resorts to manage, because Kempinski s expertise is hotel management and it has a vast global guest network. Besides, SOHO China will concentrate on real estate development and leave property/hotel management to professional companies. By doing this, both the scale of the commune and its influences will be expanded, which is beneficial to its long-term development. Mr. Pan believes that based on this, the commune will become a perfect combination of architectural art and commerce.
Commune by the Great Wall has become a showcase of contemporary Chinese and Asian architecture since Zhang Xin, Co-CEO of SOHO China and the mastermind of the project, won a special prize at 2002 la Biennale di Venezia. It has been widely covered by both Chinese and international media as a landmark Chinese contemporary architecture and a hip hotel. Since its opening as both a boutique hotel and a semi-architectural museum in October, 2002, it has become a must-visit place in China and received over 200,000 visitors across the world. The creation of the commune is such a momentous breakthrough in architectural history in Asia that it has become an icon of new China.
The commune has been constantly selected in the world hot/best hotels lists. It is the only hotel from mainland China selected by Cond Nast Traveler as one of 100 Hot Hotels in the World in 2004 and again, it is the only hotel from mainland China which has just been included in the Tatler Travel Guide as one of "the 101 Best Hotels", ranked among the 10 best "Boutique" hotels. The commune has accommodated VIP guests including Hollywood actresses Rene Zellweger and Michelle Yeoh, director Anthony Minghella, Hong Kong celebrity designer Flora Cheong, Hong Kong tycoon Richard Lee, Tod s founder, Delle Valle, F1 driver Juan Pablo Montaya, and soccer coach Arie Haan. The commune is also a hit place for corporate retreats and parties as well as product launches of high-end luxury brands. Its recent clients include Porsche, BMW, GE, IBM, Mont Blanc, Missoni, LV, Sony and Hermes. In 2004, two years after its opening, the commune s hotel business became profitable.
Kempinski s participant in the management of the commune has created a partnership between two strong players. The Great Wall, its beautiful natural setting, its unique avant-garde architecture and the hot hotel list have laid a very good foundation for the management of the commune. Kempinski Hotels & Resorts is Europe s oldest luxury hotel management company and one of the world top ten hotel management companies. Its prestigious portfolio comprises about 100 luxurious properties in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and South America. Among them, Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi is the most expensive and luxurious eight star hotel in the world. Kempinski has very rich hotel management experiences, superior standard of service and huge global guest network. With Kempinski s management, the commune is expected to become a good example of the perfect combination of architectural art and hotel business.
The name of Commune by the Great Wall will remain the same after the handover, but managed by Kempinski Hotels & Resorts will be added.

(from left)Pan Shiyi,Chairman & Co-CEO,SOHO China;Zhang Xin,Co-CEO,SOHO China;Rene Schmitt,Senior VP,Kempinski Hotels S.A.;Yan Yan,COO,SOHO China
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Commune by the Great Wall
Commune by the Great Wall is considered as SOHO China s most creative project. Set amid the peaceful and green mountains near the Shuiguan section of the Great Wall, the 8 square kilometer development is a private collection of contemporary architecture designed by 12 Asian architects. It was exhibited at 2002 la Biennale di Venezia. A special prize to an individual patron of architectural work is awarded to Ms. Zhang Xin, Co-CEO of SOHO China, the mastermind and the investor of the project for her bold personal initiative which emphasizes the role of 12 Asian architects in building privately-owned houses in a definitively contemporary manner. It was the first time in the history of La Biennale di Venezia that Chinese architecture was recognized and that the award went to a non-architect. The exhibited model, made of wood and cardboard, has been collected by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, as its first permanent collection from China. The first phase of the project, including eleven villas and a clubhouse, was completed by October 2002.
The Commune