Gold bullion-made hotel floor sparks debate

时间：2006-09-25 05:36:07

（单词翻译:单击）

Sept. 25 - The use of 270 kg of gold bullion1 as a floor inlay has turned a newly inaugurated hotel in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, into the center of a debate.

 

Paradise Island Hotel, located on Zhongyang Street in downtown Harbin, started business on Tuesday. The gold bullion, bearing the inscription3 "Swiss Bank Corporation" and "Paradise Island", glitters in two heart-shaped formations beneath transparent4 glass in the hotel lobby.

 

"The gold floor is a great innovation. A lot of customers have been coming in to take a look and some of them stayed to have dinner," said Yin Yingchuan, sales director with Paradise Island Hotel Co., Ltd.

 

The hotel is owned by Wanda Group, a property developer based in Dalian, a coastal5 city in Liaoning Province. 56 million yuan (about 7 million U.S. dollars) was spent on acquiring and transporting the gold bullion, according to Yin.

 

Opinions are divided about the luxurious6 display.

 

A primary school teacher, who refused to be identified, said the fanfare7 about the gold floor was extravagant8 and in bad taste.

 

"I didn't think a modern enterprise would act like that," he said.

 

An ordinary citizen identified as Xu Bin2 took a different view.

 

"The gold floor idea has made the newly-opened hotel famous right from the word go," said Xu, "and it is also a show of economic strength by the hotel operator."

 

Xu is supported by Li Shuanghe, another resident of Harbin.

 

"The gold bullion is underneath9 the glasswork and won't be damaged," said Xu, "Gold is gold and the carefully designed floor will preserve its value."

 

However, some experts think differently. Professor Chen Yongchang, president of the Business Administration Executive College of Heilongjiang Province, described the hotel's initiative as unwise.

 

"A sophisticated entrepreneur would use the money as working capital and expand the size of his business to reap profits," said Chen, "Paradise Island's approach of immobilizing the money to show off, contradicts the academic concept of efficient capital utilization10."

 

He believes a business depends on core competitiveness driven by real innovations.

 

Qu Wenyong, director of the department of sociology at Heilongjiang University, said the hotel's extravagance could backfire and worsen social problems in a society where the income gap is becoming increasingly serious.

 
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1 bullion VSryB     
n.金条，银条
参考例句：
  • In the London bullion market yesterday,the price of gold was steady.昨天伦敦金银市场黄金价格稳定。
  • Police have launched a man-hunt for the bullion robbers.警方已大举搜捕抢劫金条的罪犯。
2 bin yR2yz     
n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件
参考例句：
  • He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
  • He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。
3 inscription l4ZyO     
n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文
参考例句：
  • The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
  • He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。
4 transparent Smhwx     
adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的
参考例句：
  • The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
  • The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。
5 coastal WWiyh     
adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的
参考例句：
  • The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
  • This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
6 luxurious S2pyv     
adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的
参考例句：
  • This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
  • The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
7 fanfare T7by6     
n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布
参考例句：
  • The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
  • A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。
8 extravagant M7zya     
adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的
参考例句：
  • They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
  • He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。
9 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面
参考例句：
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。
10 utilization Of0zMC     
n.利用，效用
参考例句：
  • Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
  • Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。

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