Amazing Hotels Life Beyond the Lobby Season 6 Episode 1
Shanghai Wonderland
Daily_Shows Movie
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Daily_Shows Movie
All rights reserved @Dailymotion.com - Daily_Shows
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Short filmTranscript
00:00On the outskirts of Shanghai sits a world-first,
00:04a luxury hotel built downwards,
00:07into the side of an abandoned quarry.
00:11Please enjoy some tea.
00:13Oh, thank you so much.
00:17Chin-chin.
00:21Here it comes.
00:25This is our laser water show.
00:29Very dramatic, isn't it?
00:32I'm trying to figure out how it works.
00:34Whereas I want to get wet and dance.
00:37From the moment you arrive, the fun begins.
00:44Makes it for a very happy lobby, doesn't it?
00:46You walk in and smile.
00:48Most of the time you arrive at a desk and say,
00:50give us your passport.
00:53This water and light extravaganza
00:55delights guests four times a day
00:58and is split into four acts based around the seasons.
01:11Well done.
01:12Follow me, I have something else to show you.
01:15I love this place.
01:17It's very strange.
01:19Our arrival is becoming a journey of discovery.
01:22Oh, glass floor.
01:24From one moment of wonder to another.
01:26I love it, it's like a ride.
01:28We're going down to...
01:29Fourteen.
01:30Fourteen is down.
01:31Everything is upside down.
01:35We're going down into a quarry.
01:38It's like half hotel, half mine.
01:47Follow me, don't look back.
01:49As general manager, Richard certainly embraces
01:52the quirky nature of his hotel.
01:54Three, two, one, turn around.
01:58Oh my goodness.
02:01You said you were going to blow our heads off,
02:03but you are blowing my mind right now.
02:07Without the quarry behind me,
02:09I can imagine I'm on the ground level.
02:12Very, very clever.
02:14From the bottom of the quarry,
02:16your perception of what is up and what is down gets distorted.
02:20The horizon disappears
02:22and the ground level is 88 metres above you.
02:25I wonder whether it would look different if I stood on my head.
02:28It's an upside down hotel, Mon.
02:30Hang on, let's do this.
02:32It's not when you're down here, though, is it?
02:35Take a photo.
02:36I've got to get the right angle.
02:38Mon!
02:40Did you get it?
02:41No.
02:44Of course I did.
02:45It's a bit crooked, but...
02:48I think enough of a tour of this hotel.
02:51We've got to get you working.
02:53No rest for the wicked. Let's go.
02:58Our place of work isn't in amongst the hustle and bustle
03:01of central Shanghai.
03:02We're about an hour south-west in the leafy district of Songjiang,
03:07home to almost two million people.
03:11Wonderland is just six years old
03:13and is still little known outside of China.
03:16It attracts over 200,000 guests a year,
03:1990% of those visiting from within the country.
03:24Its architecture is split into three sections.
03:28The two storeys above ground level
03:30are home to the lobby and the two restaurants.
03:34The 14 storeys below ground level have the majority of the rooms,
03:38the spa and the viewing platform.
03:42And beneath the level of the lake, there are yet two more floors,
03:46with more rooms, restaurants and service areas.
03:52With 330 rooms in total, the pricing is upside down,
03:56from £250 at the top of the quarry,
03:59getting more expensive the deeper you get.
04:03I'm staying on the sixth floor, about halfway down.
04:08This way, please, Mr Ong.
04:10And to help with my navigation, head of rooms Mike has joined me.
04:14As you can see, the hotel is surrounded by the cliffs.
04:17We're at the back of a cliff? Yeah.
04:19I can't think there's any other hotel with a view like that.
04:25Here you go, Mr Rob. This is your waterfall suite.
04:29It's very beautiful.
04:33Let me show you something.
04:38Who are you talking to?
04:41The voice commander. Exactly.
04:43He'll help you to open the curtains,
04:45as well as turn on and turn off the lights as well.
04:48Like your personal butler.
04:50Ah, and there's the view.
04:53Shaodu, Shaodu.
04:55Where's the minibar?
04:57Turns out Shaodu only speaks Mandarin.
05:00Thanks very much, Mike. I guess I'll see you at work.
05:02See you at work. And if you need anything, just let me know.
05:05I will do.
05:07The unique design of this building
05:09means that every room is a different shape,
05:12a different view looking out.
05:14My mid-level suite, one of eight,
05:17costs from £1,100 a night.
05:20This is really pared-down glamour.
05:22You've got all of this corrugated brass with these lovely colours,
05:26which I suppose reflect the industrial quality
05:28of what's happening out there.
05:30There's all that suggestion of having dug into the earth
05:33with the materials that they've put in here.
05:35How do you design a room that's in a cliff?
05:39There is, well, like this,
05:42with a bit of HG Wells and steampunk and glamour thrown in.
05:48Look at this sink.
05:51You know, somebody's thought,
05:53how can we tell a different story about how to wash your hands?
05:57It's designed to surprise.
06:01Each room has a private balcony,
06:03a part of the design which allows every guest
06:06to enjoy the unique outlook.
06:08I thought it was going to be dark, but then it's light,
06:11even though we're at the bottom of a quarry.
06:13And I never quite know what's going to happen around the corner.
06:18Eight floors further below ground level...
06:21It's dark down here.
06:23..this is floor 15, the highest number but lowest floor.
06:28And just in case you forget
06:30that you're below the water level of the lake outside...
06:33Oh, look at that fish tank.
06:37It's super cool.
06:39Full of surprises, this place.
06:41There are ten rooms of private aquariums
06:44where you can literally sleep with the fish,
06:46around 35 species of them.
06:49It feels really cosy, and with the fish tank here,
06:53you do feel like you're submerged underwater.
06:55We are.
06:58But this is only half of my bedroom.
07:02Ah, and you can see outside.
07:05I do like that up here is more spacious,
07:08and you can see out, there's daylight,
07:11as opposed to downstairs, which is almost like a den.
07:19Then I've got this one, if I don't feel like using that one.
07:22Ta-da!
07:24Tap number one.
07:26Tap number two.
07:28There's almost two of everything here.
07:30But what else would you expect from a room
07:33costing up to £2,000 per night?
07:38Oh, I like the sound of the water.
07:40The waterfall.
07:42My penthouse duplex at the bottom of the hotel
07:45comes with its own private balcony
07:48and the best low-level views of the surrounding quarry.
07:51No wonder, being at the bottom of the quarry,
07:53how dark it must get at night,
07:55because it becomes a bit like a cave down here.
07:57There's no real sense of privacy,
07:59because it's just people having selfies right in front of you.
08:02I'm going to run inside,
08:04because I don't want to be in anyone's selfie right now.
08:11As darkness falls in the quarry, yet another wonder unfolds.
08:17As the architecture morphs into a subterranean festival of light,
08:21the lifts become a waterfall of colour,
08:24and the guestroom lights create a tableau of reflections in the lake.
08:33It's a thing that someone looked at this quarry and thought,
08:36that is where I'm going to build my next hotel.
08:39It looked like it landed here.
08:41It is like nowhere else on the planet.
08:44That's like my first thing is, where's the exit?
08:47And for the first time, the exit is up there.
08:50There is a sense in which it's slightly gimmicky,
08:53and how long can that last?
08:55I mean, once you've come here, would you ever come back?
08:58Yeah. Also, if you're coming to a hotel like this,
09:01what is it to do?
09:03Everyone's coming out to hang out at night.
09:06Wait.
09:08Look at that, the waterfall.
09:12Is that a screen?
09:14How are they doing that?
09:17Wonderland one. It's one surprise after another.
09:22It's like the hotel has made up for a lack of view by creating its own.
09:28Stunning.
09:30Each night, there's a 20-minute light show
09:33projected across the 19,000 square metres of quarry wall.
09:49And with most rooms essentially being their own cosy theatre box,
09:54guests can sit and enjoy the spectacle in their dressing gowns.
10:01That was magnificent. I've never seen anything like it.
10:04Me neither. That's definitely wondrous.
10:07I'm getting a bit salty, I'm on.
10:09I like that. I like that a lot.
10:12I'm off to see laundry supervisor Diana
10:15to collect my uniforms for work.
10:20OK. This is a very serious-looking uniform.
10:24OK, then.
10:26Ah, that's more like it. Chef's uniform.
10:29Apron.
10:31Maika's been kind enough to leave my uniforms in my room.
10:34I'm going to have a look.
10:37I'm not taking that personally.
10:39That's got to be maintenance.
10:42But maintenance in a quarry, that has me worried.
10:45I've not done that before.
10:47But my first job is with the front office team.
10:50I just need to find them first.
10:53So, I need to go to the lobby, which is on the top.
10:56This is so confusing.
10:58I don't know what to do.
11:01First day of work. Here we go.
11:06Hello. Hi, Monica. Nice to see you.
11:09My name's Sarah. Hi, Sarah. Nice to meet you.
11:12So, you manage this front area and everything else?
11:15Yes.
11:17So, you manage this front area and everything else?
11:20Yes.
11:22So, you manage this front area and everything else?
11:25Yes.
11:27Nice to meet you.
11:28So, you manage this front area and everyone that we see around us here?
11:31Yes.
11:32Big job. First face greeting guests?
11:34Yes. First impression of our hotels.
11:36Nice.
11:37They were very important for us.
11:38Front office manager Sarah has been working here since the hotel's opening
11:42and her team take care of all guest relations
11:45before, during and after their arrival.
11:48It's starting to get quite busy.
11:50Yes. We have a big group coming this afternoon.
11:53Actually, it's around 200, more than 200 people.
11:57The hotel is popular with families,
11:59but during the week, around 50% of guests are coach trips and day visitors.
12:03Are they families or are they from travel agencies?
12:07Actually, it's a travel agency.
12:09They're from Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau, like these cities.
12:14I mean, large groups, you have to be so organised.
12:17Yeah, of course.
12:18The two questions bother them a lot,
12:20which is, the first is how to connect with Wi-Fi.
12:24And also, in our hotel, actually, all the room is going down,
12:27so we need to teach them how to press the elevators.
12:31Which way the elevators go?
12:33Yes, you're going down to the corridor, actually.
12:35All the room is going down, so you need to press down.
12:38On a busy day, Sarah will personally meet and assist more than 100 guests,
12:42making sure they are happy and that no one gets lost.
12:46Have you been here before?
12:49Where have you travelled from?
12:57So, the elevator actually goes downwards, the rooms don't go up.
13:01You're going down, so don't be surprised.
13:04As you go down, the numbers go up, OK?
13:07Upside down, that's it.
13:09So, are you all right getting to your room?
13:11Yes.
13:12All right, we'll see you soon.
13:14See you soon.
13:15On arrival, guests are welcomed with tea, depending on the weather.
13:19It smells so good.
13:21Today is slightly cooler,
13:23so we prepared ginger tea with brown sugar to help warm people up.
13:30The team will serve up almost 3,000 cups of tea a month.
13:36Do they purposely tell them to wear something red
13:39so the tour guide can find them?
13:41You know, red means luck in China.
13:44OK.
13:50Coach parties often stay for just one night,
13:53so a good first impression is even more important.
13:58Looks like they like the tea.
14:00They took them like shots, ginger tea shot.
14:02Yes, they want another shot.
14:04I said, oh, sorry, I will come to you later.
14:1085% of guests stay here for just one night,
14:13which means the housekeeping team are constantly turning around
14:16fresh rooms for new arrivals.
14:19On some days, that's 300 rooms in just five hours.
14:24Is there a special way to put these in here?
14:26They should go that way. OK, good, good.
14:29I've joined up with Youyou,
14:31one of the hotel's longest-serving housekeepers.
14:35It's very heavy. You must have strong muscles.
14:37Yes.
14:38Right, so we just go in?
14:40No, no, no.
14:47That's very specific.
15:00Housekeeping.
15:01This room belongs to a rarity.
15:05Housekeeping.
15:06A guest staying for multiple nights.
15:08Housekeeping.
15:11HE SPEAKS CHINESE
15:21We guess the habits.
15:41So we have to anticipate how the guest likes it
15:45and make the bed like that.
15:47Despite the infrequency of long-staying guests,
15:50her attention to detail and the care of them is astonishing.
15:55OK, wrong way? Yeah. OK.
15:57OK.
16:08This is like mind-reading and cleaning.
16:14I've never seen such a personalised
16:16and respectful approach to housekeeping.
16:23So what do we do?
16:27HE SPEAKS CHINESE
16:38OK.
16:46Dear guest, you have left your clothes on the floor,
16:49so we assumed you wanted them cleaned.
16:51Regards, Rob, housekeeping.
16:57HE SPEAKS CHINESE
17:03OK.
17:04OK, note number two.
17:06Dear guest, would you like your clothes laundered?
17:16Number three, then.
17:17Hello, guest, would you like your clothes laundered?
17:25Good.
17:26Got there in the end.
17:28Right, are we finished?
17:32Let's get going.
17:40This is a busy hotel.
17:42It's full of life, fun and surprises.
17:45It's almost unimaginable
17:47that it was once a lifeless and abandoned quarry.
17:51British architect Martin Jockman
17:53was the man behind the transformation
17:55and oversaw the project from the beginning.
17:58He's agreed to visit from his home in Dubai
18:00to help me make sense of what it took
18:02to create such a staggering structure.
18:06When I saw this in 2006,
18:09it was just a hole in the ground, overgrown,
18:12with derelict industrial buildings surrounding it.
18:16It was quite raw, basically.
18:18But you could see the potential.
18:20You could see that it was special.
18:22It was the chairman of Shimao,
18:24a vast Chinese real estate company,
18:26that imagined a hotel in this former mining pit,
18:29one of nine quarries in the area.
18:32But with no groundscraper blueprint to follow,
18:35it was Martin's task to bring that vision to life.
18:38Did that excite you? Did it frighten you?
18:40Or was that the challenge that you wanted to do?
18:42I'm a very optimistic designer,
18:44and the whole idea to design a building in a quarry,
18:49and it's up to you how you do it.
18:51You know, that's fantastic.
18:53We did not anticipate all the challenges at that point,
18:57but there were many, I'll tell you that.
19:01This phenomenally complex build took 12 years to bring to life
19:05at a reported cost of well over £200 million,
19:09using around 5,000 architects, designers, engineers
19:13and workers in the creation of the hotel.
19:16It was so groundbreaking
19:18that the team patented 41 different engineering methods
19:22over the course of the build.
19:26Take me through some of the design
19:28and engineering difficulties that you had.
19:31What we needed to do is to actually firstly pump out
19:34all the water from the quarry and create a concrete base.
19:38It's almost 50,000 cubic metres of concrete,
19:42just to keep the structure, the steel structure above it, rigid.
19:47Nothing was straightforward.
19:49They even had to reinforce the cliff walls
19:51because the rock was too crumbly.
19:53That alone added around seven months to the schedule.
19:57The other interesting engineering thing I wanted to point out
20:01is the seismic requirements.
20:04There was no precedent for this building,
20:06no codes, no government regulations.
20:09Because buildings this tall are not usually fixed at both ends,
20:13they had to employ engineering normally used on bridges.
20:16They installed L-shaped trusses that are fixed at the bottom
20:20but are sitting on a moving joint on the quarry edge.
20:24This allows for half a metre of movement
20:27horizontally in the event of an earthquake.
20:29This is a sort of a first of a kind.
20:32It's a good example how we can utilise these places,
20:36places that would be thought of as a sort of scar,
20:39you know, on the face of the earth.
20:43They have definitely some use and some significance for the future.
20:50I'm really pleased that the hotel hasn't taken over the quarry completely
20:56because one of the most beautiful parts of this
21:00is looking at the quarry and feeling how majestic it is.
21:06That was the most important factor in the actual design itself,
21:11to get that balance right,
21:13to make something which doesn't stand out on its own
21:17but stands out by how it fits into its environment.
21:20I mean, if you look at the central part, which is the waterfall,
21:25and look at it as an axis,
21:27you could fold those two and they relate to each other.
21:31One is meant to be the reflection of the other.
21:34That's like a balance between the man-made world and the nature.
21:39That's the principle of yin-yang.
21:45A perk of designing a hotel in such an unusual location
21:49is that the designers could let their imagination run wild,
21:53inside and out.
21:55Creating a bar with an industrial theme,
21:59a pool with an otherworldly feel,
22:02and why not put a go-kart track on the roof?
22:05You're surrounded by fun and activity,
22:08with two theme parks on the doorstep,
22:10not forgetting that fantasy underwater world beneath the hotel.
22:19It's a shark.
22:20They are real sharks. Two sharks.
22:22We have seven sharks here.
22:23Is that a stingray? Yeah.
22:25Paul Yang is a director of engineering
22:27and it's his job to create these ultimate guest experiences
22:31but also maintain happy and healthy fish.
22:34This is the largest tank in the hotel.
22:37How many have you got?
22:38We have 13 tanks here, including this one.
22:41Although we are under the lake's surface,
22:43these are not views into it.
22:45These are a series of giant aquariums,
22:48designed to give that impression,
22:50and home to almost 3,000 fish.
22:53It's an amazing thing to be under the sea,
22:55but why have this here?
22:57We want to make this hotel as a destination.
23:00So people come here and you have all different experiences
23:04and this is one of them.
23:06What's that?
23:07Oh, that's a nurse shark.
23:09Can I name the nurse shark?
23:10I think Monica is perfect.
23:12She's very relaxed most of the time,
23:14but if, well, the shark hasn't eaten...
23:19But this Monica doesn't get hungry,
23:22because below this floor are a team of nine
23:24who look after the fish, five of them divers.
23:28With 40 filtration tanks and pools
23:30where they create their own salt water,
23:33the welfare of the fish is taken seriously.
23:36Each day they prepare over 40kg of food by hand,
23:40and Paul has left me with Ye to help out.
23:44Why do we take the guts out?
23:49This is like fine dining for fish.
23:55They're given vitamin and mineral supplements
23:57to keep them healthy.
24:04We're about to see if nurse shark Monica and her mates
24:08appreciate my culinary delights.
24:11Oh, look, they look very hungry.
24:19Ah! Oh, look, it's Monica!
24:22Monica!
24:24Hello, Monica.
24:26Oh, yeah. Delicious.
24:30There's blacktip sharks and nurse sharks and stingray
24:34all fighting over the fish.
24:36I thought this would be a slightly more serene job.
24:40Ah! Ah!
24:44Working with such grace and poise, as usual.
24:48It just demonstrates the lengths that this hotel goes to
24:51to create different experiences for its guests.
24:55I could do with a little break after all that, though.
25:00MUSIC PLAYS
25:08It's a busy hotel, isn't it?
25:10It's packed.
25:15Is that a takeaway cup? No? You can eat.
25:18That's a lot of fun. That's so Wonderland.
25:22Chocolate. Ah.
25:26Mmm.
25:27Unlike everything else in this hotel, it's all slightly surreal.
25:31What do you make of this place? I still can't decide.
25:34I mean, it's very special, it's very different.
25:36I'm not sure where it's all sort of coming together.
25:38Coming together is exactly how I feel about it.
25:40How does it all gel?
25:42Is it theme park? Is it hotel?
25:44Everything's a bit unusual and just a little bit upside down.
25:50Unsurprisingly, at every turn, you find guests wanting
25:53to record their time here with selfies and snaps.
25:56There are even two professional photographers based on site
25:59who have private photo shoots with around 50 guests a week,
26:03capturing precious moments in a one-of-a-kind location.
26:08This hotel is a destination in its own right,
26:11where guests come for overnight stays and memorable days.
26:15Today, the parents of a little girl have booked
26:18an elaborate celebration for her fourth birthday,
26:21which takes a combination of departments to organise.
26:25Hi, guys. Hi.
26:27So we're joining head of rooms, Mike,
26:29and front office manager, Sarah, to create something special.
26:33Rob will stick with me and...
26:35Monica will stick with me, Sarah.
26:37Sarah. 18. Yeah.
26:38OK, come on, 18. 18.
26:40We're the 18th. All right, OK.
26:43See you, Mum. See you, see you.
26:45Good luck.
26:47This was a birthday card we have prepared for the guests.
26:51I just bring some samples.
26:53I can do that. I can try and copy that.
26:55I mean, they're beautiful.
26:57Yes. I like to handwriting.
26:59Yes, more personal. Yes, personalised for them.
27:02I will teach you... Really?
27:04..which means Chinese happy birthday.
27:06Oh, yes, please. Teach me happy birthday.
27:08A little bit simple for you. Yes.
27:10I think starting simple would be wise.
27:12It's like...
27:14You can write...
27:19Since you are a very smart student, I think you can do it.
27:24The so-called BT, meanwhile, are en route to the housekeeping department.
27:28It keeps you fit. How many steps do you do a day?
27:3015,000, averagely, per day.
27:32Really? Yeah. I can see that.
27:34Seeing all the backstage areas allows you to appreciate
27:37the complexity of the hotel's design and its sheer scale.
27:43This is vast. It's a labyrinth down here.
27:46Where am I? Hi, everyone.
27:48Housekeeping office.
27:50So we're going to bring the flowers.
27:52Hi. Balloons.
27:54Oh, look how cool. Is that gold leaf in there?
27:56Yeah. What's this?
27:58This is the China knot. What's a Chinese knot?
28:00Chinese knot means, you know, happiness and good luck.
28:04Oh, that's so nice. Yeah.
28:12Just one line across, this one.
28:14Yes. Yes.
28:16Look much more better.
28:19Hi, we're here with the balloons.
28:21Look what I did. That's beautiful, but what does it say?
28:24Happy birthday. Happy birthday.
28:26So I bring the flowers in. OK.
28:28In order, please. What do you mean, in order?
28:30In order means one silver one and one purple one.
28:35Yeah. All right, take your time.
28:37Because the live sharks, the artwork and the unicorn isn't sufficient.
28:43That's sweet, actually.
28:45Talking of sweet, I'm heading to the patisserie,
28:48where a team of bakers prepare incredible cakes for the afternoon teas,
28:52as well as sweet treats for occasions like this.
28:56This is her cake?
28:58No, this is only welcome, Madam Chase.
29:01How's that?
29:03I think we have enough space for this one.
29:05Yeah, is that it?
29:07Tight, the birthday here, and happy on the top.
29:10The guests have spent around £200 on this special occasion,
29:13which seems very reasonable,
29:15considering all the effort and level of detail the team have gone to.
29:19Is that happy? Oh, yeah, happy.
29:21Yeah, it will be happy.
29:23While you better hurry up.
29:25Hi. Guys, hello.
29:27Because the birthday girl, Belle, along with her daddies, Peter and Hai,
29:30have arrived from Shanghai.
29:32OK, let's go.
29:34Wow.
29:36Happy birthday. Happy birthday.
29:38Happy birthday.
29:42Go, Belle.
29:52So cute.
29:54For little girls, this is very cute.
29:56It's really sweet.
29:58Well, I'm not just a little girl, I'd have liked this when I was three.
30:00Who wouldn't?
30:02And seeing the joy it brings to not just Belle, but her daddies too,
30:05makes all the effort worthwhile.
30:07You can do it. Yes.
30:09Good girl.
30:11Happy birthday.
30:21To celebrate our success, I'm joining Sarah for dinner.
30:25I'm intrigued to find out what goes on when the team aren't working.
30:30The canteen provides two complimentary meals per shift
30:33for all 330 members of staff,
30:35with a home-cooked feel to the menu.
30:38And there's even some Wonderland-esque surprises here too.
30:43You put your face on it? Yes.
30:45It's so cool. Yeah.
30:47Let me already have a dinner.
30:49You see?
30:51Failed. Failed.
30:53Does that mean I can't get any food? Yeah.
30:55That's OK. You come with me. No worries.
30:58There are a dedicated team of chefs
31:00that prepare the staff breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper,
31:03but the whole menu is overseen by the hotel's executive chef,
31:06making sure the food meets his standards.
31:09I'm going to try spicy.
31:11But the hot pot, I like hot pot.
31:13I like the green vegetable.
31:15Is that XO sauce?
31:17Yes. Is that spicy?
31:19A little bit. Uh-oh.
31:24This is delicious. Yes.
31:26So delicious.
31:28The spice might kick me later.
31:30How many days a week do you work?
31:32Five days a week.
31:34What do you do on your days off?
31:36First and important thing is sleep.
31:39Sleep.
31:41I couldn't help but notice some of the name tags.
31:44Do you have to choose an English name
31:46or is it something that you do for foreigners coming here?
31:50Actually, I do choose my English name when I go to college
31:54because our teacher said
31:56everybody should have an English name and Chinese name.
31:59So my Chinese name is Zheng Shasha.
32:02It's similar with Shasha and Sarah.
32:05Shasha and Sarah. It does.
32:07And so what would my name be in Chinese
32:10if I were to choose a Chinese name?
32:12Your name is Monica.
32:14Monica. Monica.
32:16Yes, Monica.
32:18You have your Chinese name.
32:20That's going to confuse Rob.
32:22It doesn't take much, I tell you.
32:24So what's the ambition?
32:27Come on, girl.
32:29You're already doing so well now.
32:31I would like to work at the operation park in the future.
32:35For sure, because I like to talk with guests
32:39and meet them and offer some help
32:42and let them feel at home.
32:45Are there many general managers that are women in China?
32:48They do.
32:50We do have a lot of chance on that.
32:52I think there's a space there with your name on it.
32:55We're working on that, for sure.
32:57Yes, for sure.
32:59The staff seem well looked after by the canteen,
33:02and Richard has invited me to join him for something else for them,
33:06down on the 15th floor.
33:08Welcome to our colleagues' event and birthday party.
33:18Each month, a different department gets to host a party
33:21to celebrate staff birthdays,
33:23reward excellent performance,
33:25and welcome new arrivals, just like me.
33:34Kissy only started at Wonderland last month.
33:37Is this normal in all hotels in China?
33:39Actually, they do have organised such birthday events,
33:43but not really fun.
33:45More serious?
33:46Yeah, but here it's much special
33:48because it's organised by different departments.
33:51It makes every team member very happy.
33:54This all feels slightly unexpected.
33:56I assume that Chinese work culture would be more reserved.
34:00Teammates, nice to see you.
34:02OK, let's win this.
34:04Laura, Jenny, Molly, Avril and Dennis.
34:08Cool.
34:10I'm red!
34:12Oh!
34:16Oh!
34:19Well done.
34:21This is a very happy team.
34:23Yeah, if you look at our colleagues,
34:25a lot of them, they are young,
34:27and if you do something which is traditional,
34:30then it doesn't really feel right.
34:32It's not very TikTok.
34:34So we try to inject a lot of humour and fun into it
34:36to make it more memorable.
34:38Which then permeates through their work
34:40and into the hotel's atmosphere with its guests.
34:43It's awards time.
34:44These awards are nominated by other members of staff,
34:48which kind of makes it really sweet.
34:50She can dance.
34:52Dance, dance, dance, dance!
34:55And now everybody's dancing with the best trainee.
35:00You can see our executive chef,
35:02our director of rooms,
35:04our director of engineering, human resource.
35:07You want to have a try?
35:09No, no.
35:10Ooh, cool!
35:12Come on!
35:14Drop, drop, drop!
35:17You have to join me. I'm going at the back.
35:19I'm going at the back.
35:20Seven will teach you first.
35:22Oh, go on, then.
35:24I came fifth on Strictly.
35:26I've got this, right?
35:28CHEERING
35:41All right!
35:43You're a natural!
35:47Some of these things, you go to corporate events
35:50and it feels like everybody's been conscripted to be here.
35:53Whereas here, everybody seems to be, like, really into it.
35:56We encourage them to literally let their hair down.
35:59Yeah.
36:00ALL SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY
36:05At the same time, when the bosses are here,
36:07you feel a little bit like, am I being watched?
36:10Do you know what I mean?
36:12Are you watching them, or are you just...?
36:14No, I'm just having fun too.
36:18There's something quite extraordinary about Richard
36:20and how he keeps such a large team motivated.
36:23This job seems to me to be kind of bonkers.
36:26How do you keep smiling? How do you do it?
36:29You may find this strange, you know,
36:32but I actually draw my energy from my staff,
36:36because every colleague here is interdependent.
36:39Sometimes just by engaging with them,
36:41you know, over a cup of coffee,
36:43you automatically just feel recharged.
36:45Who taught you how to be like this?
36:47I used to work in a bank.
36:48You worked in a bank? Yeah.
36:50So after being in the banking industry for two years,
36:54I find that that's not my cup of tea.
36:57What was missing?
36:58I don't feel that sense of belonging.
37:00Maybe Dad was a banker, my grandfather was a banker
37:04and they wanted me to be the third-generation banker,
37:08but I find that I couldn't fit in.
37:11So when I made the decision to move to hospitality,
37:15everyone, including my parents, said,
37:17you're making the biggest mistake in your life.
37:19Oh, they said that to you? Yes.
37:21But they said, this is your life, you choose how you want it to be.
37:26Did there come a time when your parents said,
37:28Richard, we're proud of you?
37:30They do. And what does that feel like?
37:33We run our own lives, no?
37:35And I'm so glad that my parents especially,
37:39they could finally accept the fact that
37:42there's more than just the banking industry.
37:45To a point where I have colleagues who work in the bank
37:48and they came over to my house during the holidays,
37:51my dad would say,
37:52I think you should consider joining Richard
37:55in the hospitality industry.
38:00All hotels aim to deliver something,
38:02whether it's city chic or a home in the wild.
38:05This place aims to deliver one thing at every turn.
38:09Surprise.
38:11And when it comes to food, it's no different.
38:14The hotel's Kai Feng Lu restaurant creates dishes designed to excite,
38:18specialising in Shanghainese and Cantonese cuisine.
38:22I've been asked to meet deputy manager Sandy
38:25in one of the six exclusive private dining rooms.
38:29Oh, hi, Rob. Hi.
38:32To help prepare for some very important guests arriving tonight.
38:38We keep a very high standard for especially the private dining room.
38:44The person who serves in this private dining room
38:47should be someone more senior in our department.
38:51So the best of the best... Yes, exactly.
38:54..are who serves in here. Yes.
38:57It feels like the usual sense of fun has disappeared here.
39:00This is seriously precise place setting.
39:03One point you have to be very careful.
39:05Each table well, we put one finger in between.
39:09Like, if we put the chopstick stands... Yeah.
39:12..it should be one finger away from the plate.
39:15This is like serving the royal family. Ah, yes.
39:18Everything has to be amethystic, very precise. Yes.
39:21For a shared meal, there are two sets of chopsticks.
39:24And you have the white.
39:26A personal set and another set to serve yourself with.
39:30Then you have the spoon.
39:32Should that be one finger from the edge? Yes. OK.
39:36Plus a dozen other items, all for one person.
39:39One finger. One finger, one finger. Yes.
39:42There are set rules when it comes to seating arrangements too,
39:46with seniority and hierarchy central to positioning.
39:49You put this napkin for the host.
39:52This is the host? Yes. I put it here? Yes.
39:55But there's no place names, there's no names.
39:58So the host knows to sit here because he or she has this napkin.
40:02Yeah. For Chinese private dining,
40:05on the right-hand side is a guest of honour.
40:08But sometimes, if you have two guests, it's very important.
40:11So it will be on your right-hand side and left-hand side.
40:14But I have to tell you, for tonight,
40:16you were looking after the host and the guests
40:20on his right-hand side. Right. OK.
40:23What could go wrong?
40:26Mike Rong is the Wonderland's executive chef
40:29and oversees the three restaurants and their team of 80 chefs.
40:35He's going to be teaching me a traditional dish
40:38that will be served for our VIPs later tonight.
40:41Ni hao, Chef Mike. Ni hao, Chef.
40:44Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
40:46Oh, I'm so happy to be here.
40:48So today we're making one of your traditional dishes.
40:52I'm looking at your cleaver and I'm a bit nervous.
40:57No problem, no problem.
40:59Wenzhi tofu soup dates back to the Qing dynasty, some 250 years ago.
41:04So tofu, mushrooms, king crab and vegetable juice. Yes.
41:08But the key element of the dish is the tofu
41:11and how incredibly thin it's sliced,
41:14creating thick, thick, thick soup.
41:17Incredible, with a cleaver.
41:24Oh, my goodness.
41:26How long does it take for one of your apprentices to learn this dish?
41:30One year. One year to learn this dish. Yes, yes.
41:33And I've had about 15 minutes.
41:35I'm no stranger to a knife, but a cleaver.
41:38Yes, yes, yes.
41:40And I've had about 15 minutes.
41:42I'm no stranger to a knife, but a cleaver.
41:45That's weird.
41:46This literally changes everything you know about knife skills.
41:49Yeah. Yes.
41:51Normally, you know, it was just like this.
41:55Yes.
41:59OK, no, no, no.
42:01I can see where it's sticking.
42:07That's OK.
42:09Hard work, huh?
42:12See? This is my one.
42:14Yes, yes.
42:16Not as good as your one.
42:19Used in China for well over 2,000 years,
42:22the dish is cooked in the wok.
42:24So that's how we hold the wok?
42:26Yes.
42:28Heavy.
42:30The heat of the wok is controlled by Chef's knee
42:33as he turns the gas up and down.
42:35With the knee, can I do?
42:37Yes.
42:39Yes.
42:41That takes some getting used to.
42:43Woks are designed for high heat and fast cooking,
42:46but this dish demonstrates its delicate side.
42:54The tofu is boiled and pushed evenly around the wok,
42:57combining it with the other ingredients.
42:59Magic.
43:04The heat control is an art form.
43:06A few degrees too hot and that tofu would just melt away.
43:12Will you marry me?
43:16No time for nuptials.
43:18Let's greet our guests firstly.
43:20The VIP guests are beginning to arrive.
43:23How do you do? Please.
43:25Have a wonderful evening.
43:28With group meals like this one,
43:30there will usually be around 10 to 12 dishes,
43:32which the guests will share.
43:34Cold dishes are brought out first...
43:36Have a wonderful evening.
43:38..followed by that incredible tofu soup
43:41and later, the hot dishes.
43:46It's important that the soup is served hot,
43:48so we need to move quickly.
43:50Yes, yes. Very nice.
43:56Oh, my word.
43:58Storytelling is a family business.
44:02Storytelling is a feature of Chinese cuisine,
44:05which on occasions is the chef's job.
44:07Got it? Yeah.
44:09So here it goes.
44:12Hello, everybody. I'm Monica.
44:14They let me in the kitchen today to sabotage this wonderful soup.
44:18It's over 400 years old, the recipe.
44:21It's very beautiful. I hope you enjoy it.
44:23Thank you, Monica. No, pleasure is all ours.
44:26I've done my bit. Now, don't mess it up, Rob.
44:29Oh, Rob, you're shaking.
44:36So, how do you say, bon appétit?
44:38Wei guo ha. Wei guo ha.
44:40Wei guo ha. Ta-da!
44:43I can't believe you came in with your, like, stand-up thing.
44:47I'm a chef. We just come in and talk to people like we do in the kitchen.
44:51You've just, like, broke all the rules.
44:53You should try it sometime. It's really fun.
44:55We're in Wonderland, Rob. Relax.
44:59Now for those hot dishes.
45:01Stir-fried prawn balls with a broad bean puree.
45:04It's beautiful.
45:13Beef with green peas.
45:17Yes.
45:20But for the next dish, it's over to me.
45:23Good evening, everybody. Sorry to interrupt you.
45:25This is duck that the chef prepared, braised gourd duck,
45:28prepared for four hours.
45:30It's one of the specialities of the restaurant we hope that you enjoy
45:33and you all have a very special evening.
45:35It's been a privilege to serve you all. Thank you.
45:38I may not have had Monica's panache,
45:41but at least I didn't break the rules.
45:46And that's how we serve the duck.
45:48Only six, seven more courses to go.
45:52What feels like several hours later...
45:55Oh, my word. What's happened to you?
45:58Wasn't that great? So much fun.
46:01No, I'm exhausted. That is serious service, Mon.
46:07As long as you're happy with the food, that's all I care about.
46:10They loved it. Me, I was so uptight. I was, like, clenching.
46:14Can you unclench a bit? No, I don't like seeing you clenching like this.
46:17OK, I'm declenching.
46:22It won't be long before Rob and I have to leave Wonderland to return home.
46:27But before we do, there is one aspect that I want to discover more about.
46:32The incredible light show that dances across the cliffs every night.
46:37We've now seen it several times,
46:39and honestly, every time it's transformed a dark quarry into, well, a wonderland.
46:46The next morning, I've joined Paul's maintenance team
46:50to help get prepared for tonight's performance.
46:53My first job is to help clean the projectors
46:56used to transmit images across the 383 metres of rock face.
47:01You see, here is our, you know, it's all...
47:04So I'm attached? Yeah. I'm not going to fall? No.
47:08I can climb up? No.
47:10How do I clean it?
47:12This. Yeah. Yeah, this. Amazing.
47:17Cleaning the projectors ensures a clearer image on the cliff face.
47:25How long has the light show been going on here?
47:28The end of last September. Oh, really?
47:30So it's a very new attraction. Very new.
47:33Has it ever happened that the show could not go on?
47:36It's very unlikely because we have our team, you know,
47:40to maintain the system on a daily basis.
47:42I'm glad that it hasn't had any hiccups so far.
47:45Yeah, so far, so good. So far, so good.
47:49Guests will visit Wonderland specifically for the cliff show,
47:53so it's important it can go on rain, wind or snow.
47:57Are you happy with this? Is it OK? Perfect.
48:00And then on to... Yeah. Oh, there's quite a few. Yeah.
48:04There are over 30 projectors, 18 lasers and 80 speakers.
48:11It's a nice job, this. Yeah.
48:13I mean, I think you've got the best view.
48:17Each projector is sealed in a waterproof cabinet
48:20with temperature and humidity control.
48:22They all form part of a matrix working in pairs and quads
48:26to cover the cliff face with HD-quality images.
48:30Is that, like, the biggest screen in China?
48:33I think the biggest natural screen. Yeah, it is.
48:36Does anyone else have a natural screen like this?
48:39I say no. That makes it so special, Paul.
48:42I've never seen anything like it.
48:46This time, I carry a bucket. Oh, thank you.
48:49All right.
48:56There we go. Glass checked.
48:58Glass checked. Very good. Yeah, super. Yeah. Thank you.
49:02With the projectors spotless,
49:04Paul needs help with another element of the show.
49:07What are these? This is Wonderland Airport.
49:10Oh, they're drones. Yeah.
49:12This is where they all come from. Yeah.
49:15Each evening, 100 drones take to the night sky
49:18and they need to test every single one each day.
49:22Look at those.
49:23Fang is the pilot who controls the drones
49:26and due to government licences,
49:28he is the only person allowed to handle them.
49:31I thought maybe each drone had one person controlling them
49:35and how are they not crashing together?
49:38And it's only Fang up here.
49:40All of them, they work under one same programme.
49:43Controlled by that computer. Right.
49:45He sets it up, looks very neat, very methodical,
49:48and it's ready to go.
49:49It's the coolest little airport ever.
49:51Yeah. Ah! Lights on!
49:54So now he's going to do a flying test.
49:58Ah!
49:59Ah!
50:04That is so cool.
50:05They're all up together.
50:11Bow down. Get down.
50:15Can I conduct it?
50:17You can say...
50:22Take off, land.
50:29Ah!
50:30Ah!
50:36Take off, land.
50:43Yeah!
50:44We rock.
50:45We rock.
50:46Fang.
50:47Cool.
50:48You know, we can play here all the afternoon, right?
50:50I can play all day.
50:51All day.
50:52I mean, fascinating jobs here.
50:54Can't wait to see the rest of the show tonight.
50:57Take off.
50:58Take off.
50:59Take off.
51:00Land.
51:01Land.
51:02Take off, land.
51:03Take off, land.
51:04Right.
51:05Tonight's Cliff Show is slightly more special than usual
51:08because every few months,
51:10Richard and Deputy Manager Sandy
51:12organise a small thank you for their staff.
51:15A lot of our colleagues, they are not from Shanghai,
51:19especially the younger generations.
51:21They miss home.
51:22So one of the things we try to do is, you know,
51:25we try to put everyone together
51:27to let them know that, you know, this is one family.
51:31Do you feel like the dad sometimes?
51:33Whereas, yes, that's why, you know,
51:36there's this joke in the hotel that, you know,
51:38both Sandy and I, we are like papa and mama
51:41to all our colleagues here.
51:43Richard and Sandy will personally serve the staff themselves,
51:47which in hotel culture, where hierarchy is important,
51:50turns things upside down, again.
51:53Wow, nice set-up.
51:55What a cool place for a party.
51:59This is like no staff party I've ever been to.
52:02We're at a staff party in the middle of a quarry.
52:09With the Cliff Show about to begin,
52:11there's one last job to do.
52:14Hello. Would you like a drink?
52:16Here we go.
52:19There's only just a touch of alcohol
52:21because some of you are still on shift.
52:24Enjoy.
52:29Hello.
52:32I'm your favourite housekeeper.
52:36Hi. How are you?
52:38Would you like a ginger ale?
52:55It's even more spectacular up close, isn't it?
52:58Really, yeah.
52:59I mean, look at the detail.
53:05As the team settle down to enjoy the show,
53:08it's clear that despite the cliché,
53:10they are like a family.
53:13Cheers.
53:16But without harmony between the staff,
53:18the hotel and the environment,
53:20this place wouldn't work.
53:22Just as architect Martin was inspired by the idea of balance,
53:26of yin and yang, when designing the structure,
53:29you can see there's a similar philosophy
53:31behind how it flourishes as a working hotel.
53:38Wow!
53:42Yeah!
53:44Team Wonderland!
53:48Wonderland!
53:50Wonderland!
53:52Wonderland!
53:55I love the fact that, you know,
53:57instead of out there throwing their celebration for the guests,
54:01we're throwing it for his team watching the show.
54:04It's a rare thing to do.
54:05Yeah.
54:06And they do it quite often.
54:07They do a lot.
54:08Yeah.
54:09This is Wonderland.
54:10Cheers, Mum.
54:11Cheers. It's a great night.
54:14CHIME
54:19As another day begins at the hotel,
54:21our time here has come to an end.
54:24This is a place that seeks to delight its guests on a daily basis.
54:28The team embraces the surprises the architects gave them
54:32and elevates that with their own desire
54:34to make the guests' time here as memorable as possible.
54:39That is amazing.
54:41It really is.
54:42It's almost like it was made for the quarry.
54:45A hotel in a quarry could just be a gimmick,
54:48but this is a place of joy, excitement and surprise.
54:52It's almost like Richard wants to infuse that infectious sense of fun
54:57into this corporate-looking building.
54:59And it's contagious cos it's starting to really pass on to his staff.
55:04And I think the way they've continuously adapted
55:07to make this quarry a part of that hotel day in and day out,
55:12there's always a surprise coming.
55:14I can't wait to see what Richard has up his sleeve
55:16for the future of this hotel.