China Built a Luxury Hotel 88 Metres Underground – How It Was Done

Discover how China built the 337-room InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland inside an 88-metre-deep quarry, featuring underwater rooms and remarkable engineering.

China Built an Extraordinary Luxury Hotel 88 Metres Below Ground: Here's How Engineers Made It Possible

By News National Editorial Team

Shanghai, China: Imagine staying in a luxury hotel surrounded by towering rock walls, overlooking a massive artificial lake, with underwater guest rooms offering views of aquatic life. This is not a scene from a science-fiction movie. It is a real architectural achievement in China.

Known as the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, the extraordinary five-star hotel has been constructed inside an abandoned quarry approximately 88 metres deep in Songjiang, Shanghai. Instead of building a skyscraper towards the sky, engineers and architects created a structure that descends into the earth.

The hotel officially opened on November 15, 2018, attracting international attention for its unusual design and ambitious engineering.

1. From an Abandoned Quarry to a Luxury Hotel

The project began with an unusual challenge: transforming a disused industrial quarry into a luxury hospitality destination.

The site had enormous vertical rock walls and a water-filled bottom, making conventional construction methods unsuitable.

Architect Martin Jochman developed the original design concept in 2006, working with engineering and architectural teams to turn the challenging landscape into an extraordinary hotel.

The development was led by Shimao Group, while InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) operates the property.

Rather than filling the quarry with soil or constructing a conventional building above ground, the design team decided to use the existing landscape as an integral part of the architecture.

2. An 18-Level Hotel Built Downwards

The building's design is particularly unusual.

The hotel has 18 levels, with just two levels above the quarry rim and 16 descending along the quarry walls.

Its lowest two levels are underwater, creating one of its most distinctive attractions.

The property features approximately 337 guest rooms, along with restaurants, conference facilities, recreational spaces and other luxury amenities.

The building resembles an inverted skyscraper, with much of its structure hidden below the surrounding ground level.

3. How Engineers Stabilised the Quarry Walls

One of the biggest construction challenges was ensuring that the existing quarry walls remained stable.

The steep rock faces required extensive engineering work before the hotel structure could be constructed safely.

The construction team stabilised the surrounding cliff faces and completed major foundation and substructure work at the quarry floor.

The design also had to account for the relationship between the building, the surrounding rock and the water-filled quarry.

These measures were essential to creating a safe foundation for a structure built in such an unusual location.

4. Building Two Underwater Levels

Perhaps the most fascinating feature is the hotel's underwater section.

The two lowest levels are submerged beneath the quarry lake. One level includes guest rooms and public areas facing an underwater aquarium environment.

Guests can experience a distinctive underwater setting, with aquatic life visible through specially designed viewing areas.

Constructing these spaces required careful attention to waterproofing, water pressure, drainage and water quality.

Unlike a conventional underground basement, these spaces had to operate safely while positioned beneath the water level.

5. A Glass Waterfall and Innovative Architecture

Another striking feature is the central glass structure, designed to resemble a waterfall cascading down the quarry walls.

It houses the hotel's vertical circulation and observation lifts, connecting different levels of the property.

The building also incorporates a cantilevered glass-floor viewing walkway, allowing visitors to look down into the quarry.

The architectural concept combines modern materials with the natural rock landscape, creating a hotel that appears integrated into its surroundings.

6. Earthquake Safety, Fire Protection and Drainage

Constructing a building inside a deep quarry presented engineering challenges beyond ordinary high-rise construction.

The project required solutions involving:

• Earthquake resistance: The structure had to accommodate seismic movement and the unusual conditions of a building connected to its surrounding rock environment.

• Fire safety: Emergency protection and evacuation required careful planning across multiple underground levels.

• Water management: Drainage, water circulation and water quality were essential because of the quarry lake.

• Structural stability: The relationship between the steel structure, foundations and quarry walls required specialised engineering.

• Environmental considerations: The design incorporated the existing landscape and used the quarry's natural microclimate as part of its environmental approach.

These engineering requirements made the project particularly challenging compared with conventional hotel developments.

7. Turning an Industrial Site into a Tourism Destination

Beyond its architectural significance, the project demonstrates how abandoned industrial spaces can potentially be transformed into tourism and hospitality destinations.

The hotel incorporates landscaped areas, recreational facilities, swimming pools, restaurants and conference spaces.

Its design also makes use of the quarry's rock formations, water and surrounding natural environment rather than completely replacing the existing landscape.

This approach highlights the potential of adaptive reuse in architecture, where previously industrial or abandoned sites receive a new purpose.

A Landmark in Modern Engineering

The InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland demonstrates how architecture and engineering can transform an unusual and challenging location into a functioning luxury destination.

Built inside an 88-metre-deep abandoned quarry, the hotel combines underground construction, underwater hospitality spaces, structural engineering and innovative architectural design.

It is a reminder that some of the world's most extraordinary buildings do not necessarily have to reach towards the sky. Sometimes, remarkable architecture can be created by building downwards.

1. JADE+QA – Project Architect: Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental – Project Details and Engineering

2. Apple TV – Discovery Documentary: Impossible Engineering: Wonderland Hotel (Season 5, Episode 6)

3. TVmaze: Underwater Mega Tower – Documentary Information

Editorial Note: The 88-metre measurement refers to the depth of the abandoned quarry. The hotel is not entirely underwater; its two lowest levels are submerged, while the remaining levels extend down the quarry walls.