Local residents walk past the gate of the Peace Hotel in Shanghai
© AFP/File Liu Jin

SHANGHAI (AFP) - The centre in the hotel's south building will open to the public before the start of Shanghai's World Expo in May 2010, Swiss watch makers Swatch Group, which will own a 90 percent stake, said in a statement.

"The Swatch Art Peace Hotel will welcome the arts and working artists from around the world to its splendid venues, becoming once again a focal point of Shanghai's vibrant cultural life," the statement said.

Since it was completed in 1929, the hotel has hosted celebrities ranging from Charlie Chaplin and Noel Coward to Muhammad Ali.

Former Chinese premier Zhou En-lai, founding father of modern China Sun Yat-sen and Taiwan's former Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek were also guests.

Gifted artists from around the world will be invited to stay and will be provided with space for studios, exhibitions and auctions, according to Swatch's proposal.

Swatch said its investment in the 30 million dollar project signalled the company's confidence in the future "despite the turbulence on the financial markets".

The hotel has been closed since April 2007 for refurbishment in a joint venture between China's Jin Jiang hotel group and Canada's Fairmount Group, which operates London's Savoy and New York's Plaza Hotel.

The venture will own a ten percent stake the artists' centre in the south building, while operating the north building as a luxury hotel.

©AFP