Stay connected with Shanghai’s burgeoning art scene, take the opportunity to explore historic artwork and local culture, and learn about the creative people of Shanghai.

One such opportunity is in the hotel itself. The lobby of Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai exhibits an art and antiques collection that reflects China’s artistic progression from ancient times to the 20th century. If you wish to learn more, scan the QR code at the hotel entrance on your smartphone which will reveal information about the art collection and feng shui elements of hotel.

Antique pagoda

The centrepiece of the lobby is a full-size antique pagoda, carved from rosewood, that acts as the focal point of the room’s collection. Regular Chinese worship ceremonies and traditional performances take place here, which add tradition to its artistic glory.

The Qianziwen

An artwork of illuminated calligraphy spans the upper walls of the lobby. It’s a passage from an ancient thousand-character Chinese poem that has been used for centuries as a literacy learning tool for children.

Legend has it that the 6th-century Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty commissioned the original Thousand Character Classic, or Qianziwen, to educate his son. It was composed by the poet Zhou Xingsi by reshuffling one thousand non-repeating characters from the calligraphy of 4th-century official Wang Xizhi into a rhyming text. The copy in the lobby is from a version crafted by Tang-dynasty monk and calligrapher Huai Su 1,200 years ago. Ever since it was created, the essay has become one of the most popular literary texts in China. The essay starts above the main entrance of the hotel and can be read anti-clockwise around the lobby wall.

Carved lacquerware

Beijing-carved lacquerware is known in China for its elegance. The piece on show in the lobby has been made with deep-relief engraving and a hollow-out technique. The images of heaven, a crane, and pine trees are carefully engraved in the gourd-shape plate. All these elements suggest longevity and good health.

One authentic piece of carved lacquerware usually takes between six and eight months to finish as hundreds of layers of lacquer are painted onto a wooden or bronze mold until they are between 15 – 25mm thick. The lacquerware is only finished once it has been polished with a final layer of protective lacquer.

Ruyi Kwan Yin of White Jade

Kwan Yin, a bodhisattva, commonly known as the ‘Goddess of Mercy’, is synonymous with the pinnacle of mercy and compassion in Chinese Buddhism. Beautifully cast in white jade, this 52cm statuette of Kwan Yin shows her seated, with the right hand gesturing ‘fearlessness’ and the left hand holding a ruyi, or sceptre, symbolising a blessing from heaven.

Yuan Yao's Peach Blossom Spring by He Haixia

Admire a copy of this painting based on a fable written by Tao Yuanming about a chance discovery of an ethereal utopia, where people lived an idyllic existence in harmony with nature, unaware of the outside world for centuries. The Peach Blossom Spring became a popular symbol of an ideal world in the hearts of the Chinese people. 

For more information, please contact us:

Telephone: +86 21 3858 0888
Email: jhsinfo@jumeirah.com