Released on: August 4, 2008, 3:40 am

Press Release Author: Shangri-La

Industry: Consumer Services

Press Release Summary: The art collections of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia
Pacific\'s leading luxury hotel group, showcase the rich artistic culture and
heritage of each property\'s location.

Press Release Body: Modern China, the arts of the Sung Dynasty, traditional
Malaysian crafts, and the mythical land of \"Shangri-La\" have all provided
inspiration for the paintings and sculptures that grace the group\'s hotels.

China's Sung Dynasty, the era of Marco Polo's visit to the East, is the inspiration
for the art collection of Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei. To furnish
the hotel's interior, the hotel borrowed from the colours, motifs and themes of the
Sung Dynasty at the suggestion of an expert from the National Palace Museum. The
collection displays recreations of historic pieces including wood, stone and bronze
sculptures, earthenware instruments, intricate brocades, and painted silk scrolls.

Contemporary Chinese artists are also represented at a number of Shangri-La
properties in China. "Tribute to a Chinese Poet," a vibrant canvas painted by San
Francisco-based, Shanghai-born artist Sheng Shanshan, overlooks the staircase of
Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai's Grand Tower. Many of China's highly regarded painters
come from the Sichuan province, and the Shangri-La Hotel, Chengdu presents four
locally born artists in the hotel: Zhou Chunya, He Duoling, Guo Jin and Guo Wei.
Their works are inspired by the culture and countryside of the southwest Chinese
province, including the area's most famous resident, the giant panda.

The art collection of Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, Penang celebrates the
rich diversity of Malaysian culture. The resort invested more than RM3million (about
US$924,000) into the collection of antiques and creations by regional craftsmen and
artists. The resort publishes an art guide and runs weekly guided tours of the
collection, which includes the prow of a traditional Malay boat, gold ornaments and
jewelry, "money tree" sculptures, batik metal blocks, silk fabrics and paintings.

Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong's atrium grandly displays the traditional craft of
Chinese silk painting with "The Great Motherland of China." Awarded by Guinness
World Records as the world's largest Chinese landscape painting, the piece measures
51 metres (about 167 feet or 16 stories) by 14 metres (16 feet) and consists of 250
panels of Chinese silk. Forty artists from the Beijing Arts and Crafts Research
Institute worked diligently for six months to create the masterpiece. The painting
depicts the landscape of China, sweeping across the vast country from Qinghai to the
Yellow Sea, and from Beijing to Guilin. It contains well-known landmarks such as the
Great Wall, Huangguoshu Waterfalls, and the mountain pathways commonly found weaving
through the cliffs of Sichuan and Taishan. A peaceful river binds all the elements
together, winding gracefully from West to East.

Across Victoria Harbour at Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong, the art is inspired by the
mythical land of "Shangri-La." The lobby houses four paintings, which were created
by Malcolm Golding for the hotel's opening in 1981 and were restored by the artist
in 2003, depicting the legendary Shangri-La valley and scenes of lotus flowers,
plants and birds. The Cantonese for Kowloon, geo lung, translates to nine dragons -
and Kowloon is represented in the mural through the depiction of nine "dragon
clouds."

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific's leading luxury hotel
company, currently owns and/or manages 55 hotels under the five-star Shangri-La and
four-star Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 28,000. The company has
over 50 projects under development in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France,
India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Taiwan, Thailand,
United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States. For more information
and reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at
www.shangri-la.com.


For digitised pictures of the group's hotels, please go to
http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary





Web Site: http://www.shangri-la.com

Contact Details: 21/F CITIC Tower, 1 Tim Mei Avenue, Central, Hong Kong
+852 259 93000
anita.kwok@shangri-la.com