As I pushed open the mottled arched iron door of the Shamei Building, the early autumn wind of Shanghai enveloped the fragrance of osmanthus from the Bund and collided into my arms. I stood in the lobby dragging my suitcase, and the vintage elevator with a hidden tone slowly closed the metal door. A few seconds later, I arrived at the front desk on the second floor - Z Hotel Shanghai Bund Shamei Buildingthis was the starting point of my Shanghai trip and an unexpected time and space adventure.
When checking in, the room card handed over by the front desk had a frosted texture. Walking down the hallway, the texture of the century old building slowly unfolded: the texture of the old walls still left traces of time, but miraculously blended with metal lines, velvet sofas, and plaster statues in the corners. The courtyard landscape room I booked is not particularly large, but the spatial planning is particularly well done. The most surprising thing is the small corner left by the window, where there is a vinyl player and dozens of different styles of records next to it. In the evening, a jazz song is played, and the melody spreads through the cracks of the old building, even slowing down the wind outside the window.
What surprised me most was the window view of the room. When I looked up, I could see the roofs of the old buildings on the Bund stacked one after another. Looking from a distance, the spire of the Lujiazui three piece suite emerged from the top of the wutong tree. It was commented that some of the terraces can take photos with the Oriental Pearl TV Tower directly. Although I didn't get the balcony room this time, I ran into a more surprising picture near the french window of the corridor: the sunset at six o'clock in the evening dyed the Huangpu River into pieces of gold, and the smell of coffee in the downstairs coffee shop was blowing through the draughts. I leaned against the window for ten minutes, forgot all the card punching strategies in my mobile phone, and just wanted to catch this moment of relaxation quietly.
The hotel's breakfast is a full set of American dishes, with enough portions to serve as a direct brunch. The aroma of freshly ground coffee mixed with the wheat aroma of bread, sitting by the window in the courtyard and eating slowly, one can see people leisurely walking by the exhibition hall next to them. I don't have to go out specifically to find a check-in point. During my stay at ZHotel these two days, even going to exhibitions has become a side trip on my way back to my room. The art exhibition on the first floor, the trendy signage selection corner in the public area, and even sitting at the bar in the lobby at night, I can meet young people who are also traveling. With just a few words, we can arrange to take a walk on the Bund a few hundred meters away together.
I've heard someone roast about the small room and high price before, but I think the most precious thing on this trip is not the "big space", but the temperature hidden in this century old building. When I lie in bed staring blankly at the old wall, I can't help but wonder, what kind of stories would people bring when this building was first built in 1918? A hundred years have passed, and new melodies and stories have walked down the same corridor. This collision of time travel is an experience that chain hotels can never provide.
On the day of check-out, I deliberately left half an hour early, slowly swaying along Beijing East Road towards the Bund, with the lingering sound of vinyl records from the Shamei Building still lingering in the wind. Compared to staying in an internet famous hotel, I feel more like I've been caught in the folds of time in Shanghai, stealing two days of relaxation without rushing through schedules.Show more