Now that is a groundbreaking design: The lavish £345million five-star CAVE hotel being built in an abandoned Chinese quarry

Two of the hotel's 19 storeys will be built underwater and will feature an aquarium with glass walls



The other 17 storeys will be built inside a cave at the base of the Tianmenshan Mountain

The British design firm behind the plans claim the roof of the £345-million hotel will sit just 15 metres above ground


Construction has begun on a luxury five-star hotel being built INSIDE a 100-metre deep, water-filled abandoned quarry in China at the base of the Tianmenshan Mountain.



The £345million cave hotel in the Songjiang District has been designed by British-based firm Atkins and will have 380 rooms over 19 storeys - two of which will be underwater.

The rest of the InterContinental Shimao hotel will be built into the mountainous landscape and guests will be able to do watersports on the lake and use the nearby cliffs for rock-climbing and bungee jumping.



It is expected to take around three years to build and guests could be staying in the resort by 2015 - with rooms likely to cost around £200 a night.



An artist's view of what the finished cave hotel will look like. The 5-star underground resort is being built inside a 100-foot deep, water-filled abandoned quarry in China at the base of the Tianmenshan Mountain in the Songjiang District

The £345-million cave hotel has been designed by British-based firm Atkins and will have 380 rooms over 19 storeys - two of which will be underwater

The two underwater floors will have an aquarium with glass walls that look out onto an underwater restaurant and guest rooms.

A swimming pool and a sports centre will also be built inside the hotel as well as several restaurants, a banqueting hall and conference rooms for business meetings.



Although the guest rooms will vary in size, they are expected to start from around £200 a night.

Atkins has designed the structure to blend in with the landscape using an eco-friendly green roof planted with various trees.



The rest of the InterContinental Shimao hotel will be built into the mountainous landscape and guests will be able to do watersports on the lake and use the nearby cliffs for rock-climbing and bungee jumping

How the current abandoned quarry in Shanghai looks. The hotel has been designed by British firm Adkins to make sure it blends in with the landscape. It will be fitted with an eco-friendly roof and will use natural, nearby resources to power the hotel

Li Xuyang, a senior manager for Shimao Group told Shortlist: 'Two stories will be built underwater, 17 will be within the cave and two more will be above ground.

'The roof of the hotel will only be 15 m above the cave.

'The idea was to take advantage of this unique land form and to create a garden growing in the air.



People could view the hundred-meter high waterfall from their room window.

'The hotel is part of the larger project to build Shimao Shanghai Wonderland, a large-scale theme park.'

The five-star resort will have an aquarium with glass walls that look out onto a restaurant and guest rooms, a swimming pool and a sports centre, a banqueting hall and conference facilities Construction vehicles begin work on converting the abandoned quarry into the five-star underground hotel. Li Xuyang, a senior manager for Shimao Group said the hotel is part of the larger project to build Shimao Shanghai Wonderland, a large-scale theme park



