The first wing of the
Grand Hôtel de Pékin, a five-story red brick structure, was completed in 1915. A second wing, today known as Block B, was completed in 1917, making the hotel one of the oldest in Beijing. In 1933
Zhang Jingyao was shot in the building by an assassin. Following the
July 7 incident in 1937, the hotel was taken over by Japanese forces and later by the
Kuomintang government. Later, the banquet hall served guests such as
Mao Zedong and
Zhou Enlai at the inauguration of the People's Republic. Block C, on the left, is today the
Grand Hotel Beijing. The towering Block D, on the right, is today the only remaining wing to use the name Beijing Hotel. The hotel usually caters to foreigners and wealthy domestic guests, providing restaurants and bars in a Western and Asian style. Various members of state have stayed there, including
Richard Nixon,
U Nu,
Nikita Khrushchev,
Ho Chi Minh and
Sun Yat-sen. The hotel has been awarded the Five Star Diamond Award for consecutive years. During the
2008 Summer Olympics and the
2022 Winter Olympics, the hotel served as the headquarters of the
International Olympic Committee. ==Significance==