Design & Style - Imperial Tours

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Design & Style - Imperial Tours

Anyone with an interest in food, wine and entertaining, will be excited that Imperial Tours is offering a 6 night private culinary trip through Shanghai and Hangzhou Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2013 in conjunction with the Park Hyatt Shanghai's annual "Masters of Food and Wine Festival".

The itinerary for two incorporates the following highlights:

• VIP airport meet and greet including Diplomatic Channel access

• 4 Nights at the Park Hyatt Shanghai

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The itinerary for two incorporates the following highlights:

• VIP airport meet and greet including Diplomatic Channel access

• 4 Nights at the Park Hyatt Shanghai

• 2 Nights at the Four Seasons Hangzhou

• Contemporary art and expert-led colonial architecture tours of Shanghai

• Private club, West Lake, Buddhist temples and tea specialist tour in Hangzhou

• Champagne class with Ned Goodwin, Master of Wine from Tokyo

• Gala dinner presented by Two Star Michelin Master Chef Jean-Luc Rocha from Chateau de Corbeillan-Bages

• Floral design class by French Master Florist Sebastien Lathuile and Park Hyatt Master Florist Emily Zhou

• Closing gala dinner hosted by Three Star Michelin Chef Anne-Sophie Pic of Maison Pic.

High end foodies will not want to miss this trip! Imperial Tours is able customize this itinerary in any way to suit travelers' needs. For a slightly longer itinerary, we can suggest pairing it with some holiday shopping in either Shanghai or Beijing, or both!

For questions or a copy of the itinerary with pricing, please email Priscilla Tan in our Shanghai office.

Shanghai is home to 23 million people – imagine the entire population of Australia (plus a few more) crammed onto a tiny corner of the Yangtze River Delta. It will come as no surprise that this population density brings with it enormous environmental challenges such as those we have become used to reading about in the media.

Fewer people are aware of the city’s growing sense of environmental awareness and conscience, as was exhibited by the recent Eco Design Fair hosted at the Cool Docks on the banks of the Huangpu River, where numerous companies promoted their eco friendly products and services to curious attendees.

What started as a small event held in the eco-friendly Urbn hotel back in 2008 has now grown into one of the most anticipated fairs of the year. Showcasing alternatives for a new sustainable lifestyle from bamboo sunglasses to beauty creams made with organic Chinese herbs the main attraction this year was bio-farming. Through skyfarming workshops Good to China was encouraging city dwellers to grow their own rooftop garden. Meanwhile Mahota Biodynamic Farm and Fields were promoting traceability and quality – two keys elements that have been challenged more than once recently. Many of the organic farms that have emerged in the suburbs offer weekly deliveries of vegetable boxes to those living in the city center, so they can be sure the food they are consuming is chemical free.

Although there will be more challenges before Shanghai can claim to be a true eco-friendly city these kind of events put into light innovative solutions for a better future.

If you want to learn more about this annual event, go to http://www.ecodesignfair.cn/

Why take home a taxi-load of anonymous self-assembly flat-pack furniture, when for much the same price you can fill your apartment with elegant traditional Chinese pieces?

(This article is for information purposes only. Imperial Tours is not in involved in any capacity with the antique or reproduction furniture business. Our links page introduces various Chinese and western furniture websites. We have no business relationship with these websites, and our links are not to be interpreted as recommendations. We advise caution when contacting these companies.)

Opening the door to your astronomically-priced expat housing, you are appalled by the gaudiness of the furniture inside. It's so out of date that even your grandmother would smile in embarrassment. Tensions rise to the surface when visitors drop by – friends, colleagues…your boss. Is there any way of silencing their grating offers of sympathy, or of replacing their latent discomfort with open admiration?

Fortunately, there is.

Beijing is replete with sophisticated furniture sellers and skilled craftsmen, whose ready services can be employed to restore your interiors to elegant grace. But before you rush to a furniture maker, equipped with your sketch of a swimming-pool-sized daybed, or to Guang Han Tang Antiques, credit card in hand, you should prime yourself with some background information. This will mark you out as a knowledgeable rather than a naive customer.

Categories of furniture

To tilt the shopkeeper's opinion in your favor, you should start by identifying furniture pieces by their proper names. Chinese furniture began to take its present form during the Northern Song Dynasty. Since then the following terminology has been used, as shown in the table below:

Chinese homophone	English	Special characteristics	Image
Stools
Dengzi	Stool, bench	Square, rectangular or round
Zuodun	Stool	Barrel-shaped stool
Jiaoyi	Folding chair	Seats made of rattan
Chinese homophone	English	Special characteristics	Image
Chairs
Fushouyi	Armchair
Kaobeiyi	Yolk-back chair	Without armrests
Guanmaoyi	Official's hat chair	Top of backrest has wings like an official's hat
Quanyi	Horse-shoe chair	Back is horse-shoe shaped
Chinese homophone	English	Special characteristics	Image
Tables
Tiao'an	Entrance table	Long and narrow
Hua'an Shuan	Writing table	Wider than entrance table
Kangzhuo	Bed table	Small in size & low
Fangzhuo	Square table
Huaji Xiangji	Plant stand, incense stand	Long and high legs
Chinese homophone	English	Special characteristics	Image
Shelves
Jiage	Storage shelf
Chinese homophone	English	Special characteristics	Image
Cabinets
Yuanjiaogui	Round-sided cabinet
Fangjiaogui	Square-sided cabinet
Chinese homophone	English	Special characteristics	Image
Beds
Ta	Daybed	No sides
Luohanchuang	Opium Bed	Has three sides; resembles a couch
Jiazi chuang	Canopy Bed	Wooden canopy encloses bed

In ensuing discussions, you may also find the following vocabulary helpful:

Useful words and phrases

Chinese Homophone	English	Chinese Homophone	English

Chang	long	Changdu	length
Kuan	wide	Kuandu	width
Gao	high	Gaodu	height
Hou	thick	Houdu	thickness
Shen	dark	Shendu	darkness
Qian	light

Not all woods are made equally

Crucial to the price and quality of your furniture is the wood used for it.

Recently, we had the pleasure of walking through a Hebei forest with Laurent Colson, a Parisian antique dealer. Indicating the various trees around us, he explained which wood was esteemed during each dynastic period to manufacture the various categories of furniture. Only if, like him, you trade at esoteric levels of the antique market do you need such encyclopedic knowledge. For most of us, it is enough to know which woods are the traditional signifiers of high quality furniture.

The table below presents the characteristics of the most commonly used woods. Grades 1-4 (grade 1 is the best) designate the hardwoods while grades 5-7 designate the lesser quality and more commonly available softwoods.

Chinese homophone	English	Colour	Characteristics	Grade
Zitan	Red Sandalwood	Reddish-brown to golden-yellow	Shimmering surface with abstract patterns	1
Huanghuali	Yellow Rosewood	Blackish-purple to blackish-red	Fine, lustrous surface	2
Jichimu	Chicken-wing Wood	Deep brown	Brown, gray patterns resembling feathers	3
Tieli	Iron Wood	Grayish black	Coarse texture	4
Hongmu	Chinese Mahogany	Reddish-brown to blackish-red	Used only after the 18th century	5
Nanmu	Evergreen Laurel	Olive-brown to reddish-brown	Shimmering surface, smooth texture	5
Hetao	Walnut	Golden-brown to reddish-brown	Open-grained texture; fragrant	6
Jumu	Southern Elm	Yellowish-brown to coffee-brown	Medullary rays; feathery patterns	6
Zuomu	Oak	Grayish-yellow to grayish-brown	Medullary rays; lustrous flakes	6
Yumu	Northern Elm	Yellowish-brown to chestnut-brown	Layered, feather-like patterns	7
Zhangmu	Camphor	Reddish-brown	Light/dark striped pattern; strong fragrance	7

Hardwoods

Zitan (red sandalwood) and Huanghauli (yellow rosewood), the premier hardwoods, were traditionally sourced from Hainan Island, but now are also available from other tropical parts of Southeast Asia. Jichimu (chicken-wing wood) and Tieli (iron wood) come from Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

Hardwood furniture, however, was not necessarily manufactured near its source. Just as important as the woods' geographic distribution, was the availability of craftsman skilled enough to work them. For instance, the best Huanghuali furniture was known to hail from Jiangsu province, because specialist craftsmen during the Ming and Qing dynasties (mid-15th to early-20th centuries) assembled there to work with it.

Softwoods

Typically these are woods easily sourced by local craftsmen. Since they are readily available, they are used for more common pieces of furniture. They comprise the bulk of furniture in today's market, ranging from Yumu (northern elm) and Huaimu (locust)-in the northern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi-to Jumu (southern elm)-in Jiangsu province-and Xiangzhang (camphor)-in the south.

Let the shopping begin!

Notwithstanding that a little knowledge-especially when backed with good credit-is a dangerous thing, let's go shopping. You have three purchasing routes open to you. Firstly, to buy genuine antiques, secondly to purchase reproductions, and lastly to organize the design and purchase of your own made-to-order furniture. The price comparisons below give only a general indication of the prices of comparable objects. Prices listed are not exact and, of course, do not include the discounts able negotiators may be able to obtain.

Furniture category	Antique	Reproduction	Made to order
Opium Bed	US$1,800+ (Southern Elm)	US$1,200 (Northern Elm)	US$360 (Northern Elm)
Horse-shoe chair	US$850+ (Northern Elm)	US$600 (Northern Elm)	US$100 (Northern Elm)
Dining table & chairs (8)	US$2,500+ (Northern Elm)	US$1,800 (Northern Elm)	US$1,800 (Northern Elm)
Armoire	US$1,200+ (Southern Elm)	US$400 (Northern Elm)	US$360 (Northern Elm)

Tips for buyers

Antiques

If you are interested in the top end of this market, the first thing to note is that Beijing does not necessarily offer the most reasonable prices. At this level, prices are set internationally. You should compare prices at Guang Han Tang and Hua Yi with dealers located in Hong Kong, New York, Paris and London.

Otherwise, there are two laws well worth knowing. Firstly, if a Chinese dealer misrepresents an antique, i.e. sells you a fake instead of the real thing, under article 49 of the PRC's Consumers' Rights Law, you are entitled to a penalty of at least double the value of the sale. Secondly, when it comes to leaving the country-you are legally obliged to have your purchased antiques valued by the Customs Office (something which most international moving companies will arrange for you). Chinese law stipulates that antiques which are older than 300 years are not allowed to be exported out of the country. This law, however, does not apply to all woods, but to the more valuable zitan, huanghuali and jichimu woods. As laws do change, it is advisable that you confer with the store to make sure that you will be allowed to take your purchases home.

Although most antique stores will guarantee the quality of their goods, the value of such warranties is negligible once you have left the country.

Reproduction

The main thing to watch out for when in the market for reproduction furniture is to verify that the piece has been made using aged wood ("lao mu" in Mandarin Chinese). If the wood is more than eighty years old, it will have dried properly. Consequently, during winter when all woods contract, the resulting separation will be kept to a minimum. Should your furniture crack down the middle of a panel, this is a clear sign that new wood was used.

If, however, a certain degree of separation occurs at the junction of two or more panels, do not worry. This is to be expected.

Made to order

If you aren't a trained designer, the easiest way of going about this process is to first purchase a design or photographic book of Chinese furniture. While there are numerous coffee table books, one of the most useful is Illustrated Chinese Furniture Through the Ages by Ruan Chanjiang (ISBN 7-5344-0233-6/J234). This book contains line drawings of many of the pieces, featuring not only the various categories of furniture but also numerous stylistic variations for each particular category. Another good reference book is Illustrated Chinese Furniture of the Ming Dynasty by Jing Ronghua and Shuai Ciping (ISBN 7-5038-2393-3/TB0318) which has photographs of some of the more popular pieces of Ming dynasty furniture. Both books can be found in Liulichang.

One advantage to buying made-to-order furniture is that you can adapt pieces according to your particular needs. For instance, traditional Chinese dining sets are often enormous in size, suitable for the spacious courtyards homes of the Ming and Qing elite, but perhaps not as suitable for the tiny New York apartment which may one day house them. In addition to such practical changes as customizing the dimensions, you may want to alter pieces according to your aesthetic preferences. For instance, a traditional dining table may be adapted by using a glass table top rather than a wooden one (see left), or the design of a mirror made to mimic the decorative motif of the more traditional entrance table(see right).

One word of caution-Beijing furniture makers, for obvious reasons, are better at making traditional Chinese styles. Taking a copy of Architectural Digest or Elle Decor and expecting them to copy the Western or modern designs is not recommended. Also beware that ordering your own furniture typically involves a great deal of supervision. Mr. Hou Xiaodong, for instance, will always let you inspect the structure of the piece before varnishing it. Once you've approved the structure, he will ask you to specify the color of the varnish. (This usually involves looking around his storage room for one that you like.) And before delivering the final product, he will invite you to inspect the piece a last time to approve the varnish. Though this process may sound tedious, it is advisable to invest as much care and interest in inspecting your furniture as you would expect him to do in manufacturing it.

Lastly, to care for your furniture, do not clean it with a spray-on furniture polish or with a wet cloth. Wipe it regularly with a dry cloth, and every 3 months apply a high-quality furniture wax such as Manson Wax.

By so doing, you will not only assure your own continuing satisfaction, but that of your friends, colleagues, and perhaps even your boss. Happy shopping.

Guy Rubin and Nancy Kim are the founders of Imperial Tours. They can be contacted via web_inquiry@imperialtours.net. Laurent Colson runs his antique furniture business from Galerie Luohan, 21 quai Malaquais, 75006 Paris.

July 20-August , 2000 CITY WEEKEND
(All photographs © City Weekend)

The history of Chinese ceramics began some eight thousand years ago with the crafting of hand-molded earthenware vessels. Soon after, in the late neolithic period, the potter's wheel was invented facilitating the production of more uniform vessels. The sophistication of these early Chinese potters is best exemplified by the legion of terracotta warriors found in the tomb of Emperor Qin (r. 221-206 BC).

Over the following centuries innumerable new ceramic technologies and styles were developed. One of the most famous is the three-colored ware of the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), named after the bright yellow, green and white glazes which were applied to the earthenware body. They were made not only in such traditional forms as bowls and vases, but also in the more exotic guises of camels and Central Asian travelers, testifying to the cultural influence of the Silk Road. Another type of ware to gain the favor of the Tang court were the qingci, known in the West as celadons. These have a subtle bluish-green glaze and are characterized by their simple and elegant shapes. They were so popular that production continued at various kiln centers throughout China well into the succeeding dynasties, and were shipped as far as Egypt, Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan.

Blue and white porcelain was first produced under the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368 AD). Baked at an extremely high temperature, porcelain is characterized by the purity of its kaolin clay body. Potters of the subsequent Ming dynasty (1368-1644) perfected these blue and white wares so that they soon came to represent the virtuosity of the Chinese potter. Jingedezhen, in Jiangxi province, became the center of a porcelain industry that not only produced vast quantities of imperial wares, but also exported products as far afield as Turkey. While styles of decorative motif and vessel shape changed with the ascension to the throne of each new Ming emperor, the quality of Ming blue and whites are indisputably superior to that of any other time period.

During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), porcelain was enriched with the innovation of five-coloured wares. Applying a variety of under-glaze pigments to decorative schemes of flower, landscape and figurative scenes, these wares have gained greatest renown in the West. In almost every major European museum, you will find either a five-colored ware or a monochromatic ware (in blue, red, yellow or pink) from this period.

The quality of Chinese porcelain began to decline from the end of the Qing dynasty as political instability took its inevitable toll on the arts. However, the production of porcelain is being revived as Chinese culture gains greater recognition both at home and abroad. In addition to modern interpretations, numerous kiln centers have been established to reproduce the more traditional styles.

Home of the Emperor, the Forbidden Palace was constructed in accordance with the laws of geomancy or fengshui. Every element was considered according to its prescriptions, the most fundamental being the positioning of the palace along a north-south axis.

The occult art of numerology similarly played a significant part within the palace's architecture. Since odd numbers are thought to be masculine and even ones feminine, the number nine, the "ultimate masculine" number, was associated with supreme Imperial sovereignty. It is therefore employed continuously in the palace, for instance in the number of studs on the gates. Likewise, the towers guarding the four corners of the palace each have nine beams and eighteen columns. But its most conspicuous application is in the fact that the Forbidden Palace is comprised of 9,999 rooms.

A further element differentiating palace architecture from other traditional Chinese forms includes the specific designation of colored glazed tiles. While these were applied to the roofs of many aristocratic homes, the use of yellow tiles was exclusively reserved for Imperial palaces, mausoleums, gardens and temples. The association of the color yellow with the Emperor originated with the idea that the great Yellow River was the cradle of Chinese civilization. As a result yellow also represents the concept of earth in the Chinese occult universe. Green was used on palace buildings reserved for court officials, while red, signifying happiness and solemnity was generally used on doors.

Prevalent throughout the palace are elements of zoomorphic symbolism. The most apparent of these is the use of the dragon and phoenix, symbols of the emperor and empress. Omnipresent in the palace, these legendary animals have been found on objects dating back as far as three thousand years. Another frequently seen animal is the lion who guards various entrance gates. Always found in a pair, the lion on the left is male and holds a ball symbolic of imperial unity. The one on the right is female and plays with a lion cub, symbolic of fertility. As the lion was thought to be the ruler of the animal kingdom, it represented qualities of power and prestige.

Interesting also are the animal ornaments found on imperial rooftops. The mystical animal at the outermost tip was thought to be the son of the Dragon King-ruler of the sea. With powers over the waters, this animal was thought to protect the palace buildings from fire. Along the roof edges are various smaller animals, the sizes and numbers of which differ according to the rank and status of the dweller within.

The first contacts between adherents of Buddhism and the Chinese people took place along the Silk and Fur roads during the Eastern Han dynasty (8-220AD). Over subsequent centuries these central caravan routes, with Chang'an (near Xi'an) at their eastern terminus continued to serve as the principle avenue by which Buddhism entered China. So significant did this Indian religion become to Chang'an's development that by the eight century the city boasted sixty-four monasteries and twenty-seven nunneries, and had become a Buddhist centre of study for the East Asia region. As Buddhism was synthesized into Chinese thought, various new sects developed. One variant in particular, with Daoist influences, grew to prominence. This was Chan Buddhism. So influential did it become that Japanese monks transported it to their country where it became known as Zen Buddhism.

The spectacular rise in popularity and wealth of the Buddhist institutions in China eventually incurred the Emperor's wrath. In 841 AD the insane, Daoist Emperor Tang Wuzong ordered a crackdown. During the next four years, nearly all Buddhist monasteries were decimated and its practitioners persecuted. Although many temples were refounded a few years later, Buddhism was never able to recover its former predominance in China's spiritual life.

The Big Goose Pagoda

This fine pagoda was built in honour of the work of Xuan Zang, the famous Chinese Buddhist monk, immortalized in the 16th century novel Journey to the West , otherwise known simply as, Monkey .

Born into a poor family, Xuan Zang became a monk at the age of eleven. By the time he was twenty-six, he'd grown so dissatisfied with poor translations of Buddhist works that he resolved to travel to India to discover uncorrupted Sanskrit texts. Since international travel was forbidden by the Emperor, Xuan Zang disguised himself and joined a group of Central Asian merchants heading West along the Silk Road. Seventeen years later in 645 AD, having travelled through sixteen countries, he returned to Chang'an. There he wrote the Record of the Western Regions , a detailed description of his travels which provided the authorities with up to date information about Central Asian countries. The Emperor authorized a translation of the new Sanskrit texts and constructed the Big Goose Pagoda, according to an Indian design, in which to store them.

The Chinese consider gardens a serious art form and as with painting, sculpture and poetry aim to attain in their design the balance, harmony, proportion and variety that are considered essential to life. In fact there is a saying which goes, 'the garden is an artistic recreation of nature; a landscape painting in three dimensions" . Through a combination of such natural elements as rock, water, trees and flowers and such artificial elements as architecture, painting and poetry, the designer sought to attain an effect which adhered to the Daoist principles of balance and harmony, man and nature.

The Chinese garden is divided into three categories: the imperial garden, the private garden and the natural scenic site. The earliest imperial garden dates back to the late Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1027 BC) with the construction of an imperial hunting ground, followed by the Shanglin garden built by the Emperor Qinshihuangdi in his capital at Xianyang. The latter was completed by the Han Emperor Wudi (r. 140-87 BC) and is thought to have been the basis upon which the Summer Palace was designed. The first private garden, known also as a literati garden, appeared during the Northern and Southern dynasties (420-589). Natural scenic sites, which were large scale gardens built against the backdrop of naturally existing mountains, valleys, lakes, etc., were used as the pleasure grounds of the imperial house and nobility.

Of the three types of Chinese gardens, it is the private garden which is of most interest when visiting the 'Garden City' of Suzhou. They are the most intimate of the group and were created as a place of retreat for the gentleman-scholar to escape the chaos of the city. It was during the Tang dynasty (618-907) that the literati garden reached its height, a treatise on garden design being written in 634 by the painter-gardener Ji Cheng. One of the key elements of this treatise was the necessity for the garden to "look natural, though man-made". Also stressed was the harmonious combination of opposites, that is of the small and large, of the revealing and concealing, of the real and unreal, and of the vertical and horizontal.

A common feature of Chinese garden architecture is the waterside pavilion – a derivation of an ancient wooden house supported on stilts. It later became the fashion to build waterside pavilions upon the lake or pond of a garden so that half the structure was built on land, while the other half was raised on stilts above a body of water. So as to allow viewing of the garden from all sides of the building, decorative windows were placed along the periphery of the wall. Such a waterside pavilion can be seen in the Humble Administrator's Garden .

Another key element of Chinese gardens is their covered corridors, built to allow the owners to enjoy the garden in the rain and snow. These covered walkways fall into two categories, those which connect buildings and those which are built by the shore of a small pond or lake. As with waterside pavilions, corridors often have windows or "scenic openings", which act as picture frames directing the eye to particular views of the garden. Such scenic openings were designed simply as circles, squares or ovals or in more imaginative shapes like those of a lotus petal, garland or bay leaf.

Often the most exquisite elements of a Chinese garden can be found in its details. Such is the case with the footpaths, imaginatively patterned with coloured pebbles into a variety of designs along the ground. A common motif is that of the square within a circle, signifying the ancient belief that the "heaven is round and the earth square". Good luck omens may also often be found. Whilst the bat and crane symbolize good fortune and longevity, the fishing net portends affluence. There are, in addition, often depictions of scenes from well-known traditional paintings and legends.

The Garden of the Master of the Nets is one of the smallest gardens in Suzhou, but is also consider one of its finest. Constructed in the twelfth century and then, after a period of abandonment, restored during the eighteenth century, it was the residence of a retired official. The eastern part of the grounds served as the residential area, the central section was the main garden and the western portion the inner garden. The Humble Administrator's Garden was so-named after a Jin dynasty (1115-1234) poem which read, 'Watering the garden and selling vegetables constitute a humble administrator's business.' Originally the home of the Tang Poet, Lu Guimou, the garden took on its present form during the Ming dynasty and is perhaps one of the most representative of Ming dynasty garden designs.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2007

Media Contacts:
Margot Kong
Imperial Tours
888-888-1970
web_inquiry@imperialtours.net

Imperial Tours offers Shanghai Boutique Hotels for Private Tours
San Francisco, Calif. – Luxury travelers visiting Shanghai now have a great number of hotel options. In October, Imperial Tours will expand the choices of hotels for its private tour clients to include not only the Grand Hyatt and the Four Seasons but also the new boutique hotels Jia Shanghai and the Mansion Hotel.

The contemporary Jia Shanghai, housed in a former apartment building, is located on the bustling Nanjing Road. Its 55 rooms are well designed and laid out. The chic, hip rooms – all with fully equipped kitchenettes – start at 377+ square feet for a studio and go up to 1292+ square feet for a penthouse suite.

Situated on a tree-lined street in the heart of the French Concession, the Mansion Hotel occupies a five story former French manor. The building was designed by French architect Lafayette in 1932, a period when Shanghai – swinging to the tunes of Russian émigré dance and jazz bands – was one of the wealthiest sea ports in the world. This palatial residence was originally commissioned by Jin Ting Sun, a cohort of the infamous Shanghai gangster Big Eared Du. Nationalized by the Communist government after the revolution, the property was entrusted to Chinese hotelier Dr. Dean Yin, one of the key movers behind the highly successful Xintiandi project, to become the flagship property for a series of City Heritage hotels in major destination cities. Dr. Yin gutted and reconstructed the insides of the mansion so that it is able to provide the amenities and services that luxury guests would expect from a modern heritage boutique hotel.

Each room in the Mansion Hotel – boasting high ceilings, a four poster feather bed and Jacuzzi tub – is decorated with Art Deco furniture and vintage antiques. Despite the classic charm, the rooms are also high-tech with 42" flat screen TVs, CD/radio system and Bose/Ipod sound docks. Imperial Tours' guests will receive complimentary champagne upon check-in and a one hour massage.

"For our clients who would prefer not to stay at a large international chain hotel, we can now suggest two charming boutique hotels in Shanghai," said Imperial Tours' Managing Partner Nancy Kim. "Though there may well be some service issues at these smaller properties in the near term, those who want old world style will enjoy The Mansion, while those who want a much more contemporary setting will prefer Jia."

About Imperial Tours
Imperial Tours offers luxury set-departure and private tours of China, combining local expertise with the high levels of service and quality expected by sophisticated Western travelers. Imperial Tours has first-hand knowledge of world-class hotels and restaurants as well as the history, culture, arts, and little-known exclusive destinations within China. Founded in 1999, Imperial Tours operates out of Beijing, China; San Francisco, California; and Frankfurt, Germany. For more information, visit www.imperialtours.net or call 888-888-1970.