A luxury hotel opening outside Shanghai is offering guests with deep pockets the chance of a very deep sleep.
The 18-story Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland Hotel has been built into the side of a huge hole in the ground left by a former pit mine. Sixteen of its floors are below ground level, looking out onto the rest of the former quarry. Two floors are underwater.
"I designed many different types of buildings in U.K., in Europe, in Dubai, and so on but this one was totally different and became almost life work, so that's why I'm saying it's probably the most important building that I have designed," said chief architect Martin Jochman, who is known for the sail-shaped Burj Al-Arab skyscraper in Dubai.
Visitors walk near the Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland Hotel in Songjiang district of Shanghai, east China, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2018. The 18-story hotel has been built into the side of a huge hole in the ground left by a former put mine with sixteen of its floors below ground level. (AP Photo)
The project began in 2006 and construction got underway in 2013. The team faced delays and a host of technical challenges, including meeting strict earthquake regulations and maintaining water levels.
UNESCO representative Michael Croft described the 336-room hotel as a model for sustainable development.
"It's a model that has been inspired by a vision of a better future, and a present that looks to its past for answers," he said at a news conference introducing the hotel Thursday.
The hotel, which is in Songjiang near Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, opens Tuesday. Rooms are priced from 3,666 to 6,000 yuan ($530 to $860).
"We could have abandoned this quarry," said Xu Shitan, vice chairman of Hong Kong property developer Shimao Group, which developed the hotel. "But we didn't. We turned it into a treasure."
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has for now denied the A's request to trademark the names “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.”
The club, which intends to move to Nevada in 2028, has three months from when the refusals were issued Dec. 29 to ask for an extension to file a new application within a six-month period.
The A's were told the nickname “Athletics” was too generic and could be confused with other activities even if associated with Las Vegas.
That, however, has been the club's nickname since the Philadelphia Athletics began playing in 1901. The A's kept the nickname when they moved to Kansas City in 1955 and Oakland in 1968.
The Patent and Trademark Office denied the NHL's Utah team to use the nickname “Yetis” on Jan. 9 because of potential confusion with companies such as Yeti Coolers. Utah, which moved from the Phoenix area in 2024, now uses the nickname “Mammoth.”
The A's relocated to West Sacramento, California, last year to play the first of three planned seasons in the city's Triple-A ballpark. The team is going solely by “Athletics” while playing in the Northern California city.
A $2 billion, 33,000-capacity stadium on the Las Vegas Strip is under construction. Club officials told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Dec. 4 that the ballpark is on schedule to open in time for the 2028 season.
Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the ballpark, and the A’s have said they will cover the remaining expenses. Owner John Fisher has been seeking investors to assist in the funding.
In preparing for the move to Las Vegas, the A's have signed some notable contracts. The most recent was an $86 million, seven-year deal for left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, the richest in team history. Soderstrom signed his contract Dec. 30 at the A's Experience Center in Las Vegas.
The A's acquired second baseman Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets on Dec. 22.
Going back to last offseason, the A's also reached agreements on a $60 million, five-year contract with designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker and a $65.5 million, seven-year deal with outfielder Lawrence Butler. Manager Mark Kotsay signed an extension that takes him through 2028 with a club option for 2029.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE - Athletics' Tyler Soderstrom sprints towards first after hitting an RBI double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sept. 23, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall, File)
