Once a stopover for Ronald Reagan and Jay Chou, Beijing’s one-time beacon of luxury fades

Once a prestigious venue hosting foreign dignitaries and significant events, The Great Wall Hotel Beijing now lies in a state of quiet disrepair – the hotel’s name can barely be noticed on the bricks and stone walls, obscured by a thick covering of ivy.

The entrance is completely sealed off by green barriers, and the rooftop terrace is overgrown with untended weeds.

Since its opening in 1984, the hotel was one of the first luxury hotels built during China’s reform and opening-up period, seen as a beacon of luxury and a symbol of Beijing’s dynamic hospitality scene.

As the first star-rated hotel in Beijing, and one of the first five-star hotels in China, the once-glorious establishment featured a glass exterior and stood 24 stories high, which was seen as pioneering and innovative at the time.

It has hosted countless significant events and has been the preferred lodging for world leaders and business moguls, including former US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing.

Taiwan’s “King of Mandopop” Jay Chou also held a promotional event for the film Initial D at the hotel in 2005, while former NBA player Shane Battier held a press conference at the venue in 2007.