When Hyatt began planning the hotel, which tops the Golden Trade Tower owned by the Chinese finance ministry, Pudong was little more than paddy fields, and the new hotel boom shows that many hope for the same growth rate in the coming decade.
"When we first signed on the project people asked why we chose Pudong because there was nothing here. Hyatt has always been a hotel group that has view of the future," said Liu with pride.
And the future is rosy? Not necessarily. There remain many lurking problems under Shanghai's glossy surface.
For the moment, China's currency remains unconvertible, which protects stock markets choked with companies hemorrhaging money, and banks on the brink of insolvency by international standards.
Such yawning financial chasms bar the route to Shanghai overtaking Hong Kong as the financial center of China, let alone the region.
By the end of the year, Shanghai will have more than enough luxury hotels, but demand will take a few years to catch up.
If WTO fails to prove the business bonanza many are hoping for, there will be a lot of empty rooms to fill.
RSS