Lobby of China World Hotel, Beijing

Lobby of China World Hotel, Beijing

 

Lobby of China World Hotel, Beijing

Lobby of China World Hotel, Beijing

 

Lobby of China World Hotel, Beijing

Lobby of China World Hotel, Beijing

 

This is my first stay at a Shangri-La hotel, and I’m reasonably impressed.  Nice room, great service, and seemingly the biggest employer in town.  Definitely an Asian-feeling hotel, both in design and in terms of service.

 I’ve never seen quite so many people whose job is basically “standing by something”.  Thailand comes close, but it’s really a phenomenon here.

There’s one guy whose only job is to press the ‘up’ button on the elevator.  Actually, there are three of these guys, each working an eight-hour shift.

Chamber group at China World Hotel, Beijing

A chamber group plays in the lobby of the hotel

 

There are countless people who are paid to stand by things – signs, doors, plants, pillars, hallways, lobbies…  There’s live music in the lobby around the clock – everything from a pianist in the morning to a full chamber orchestra in the evenings. 

Still, in a country of 1.3 billion people, I guess you have to do what you can to create employment opportunities.