CURATED FOR ART CONNOISSEURS

For discerning travellers with an eye for craftsmanship and design, this hotel offers museum-worthy objets d’art and quietly sophisticated interiors.

- Words: WILLIAM KC KEE

For art connoisseurs seeking a more thoughtful side of China, The PuLi Shanghai offers an experience that feels less like checking into a hotel and more like stepping into a carefully curated private residence.

Designed for travellers drawn to artistry, architecture and atmosphere over overt opulence, the property embodies a rare sense of quiet sophistication in the heart of the city.

Currently undergoing a full renovation delivered in phases, The PuLi Shanghai remains fully operational while entering a refined new chapter. Yet even amid transformation, its identity remains untouched: calm, restrained and deeply intentional.

Part of the family-owned Urban Resort Concepts portfolio alongside The PuXuan Hotel and Spa and The RuMa Hotel and Residences, The PuLi Shanghai continues to define contemplative urban luxury through its understated philosophy of authenticity, harmony and timeless design. At its core lies an appreciation for craftsmanship that resists spectacle, allowing artistry, texture and quiet detail to speak for themselves.

The transformation is entrusted to Layan Design Studio, the original creative force behind the hotel’s interiors. Their return signals continuity rather than reinvention. The brief is subtle yet exacting: honour the property's East Asian sensibility while introducing a more contemporary Western architectural language. The result is not disruption but refinement, a quiet recalibration of space, proportion and texture.