We stayed in the Grand Metropark Wanshi Hotel for four nights in early May, having been booked there by a Chinese Travel Agent whom we know and trust implicitly.

Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi province, a part of China known for it limitless quantities of coal and perhaps for the Grand Metropark Wanshi Hotel. It is a new and striking tower, visible from far away and set alongside a squalling main road, noisy with cars and lorries and the universal intolerance of the Chinese driver. It is not, perhaps, the best of first impressions but all that aggression is somehow lost once an army of porters greets you from the cab, gathers up your bags and sweeps you through the revolving doors.

Having arrived at 1.00 in the morning - never travel by Hainan Airlines, it is only next day that you realise the scale of the reception hall, over three floors in height with a king-sized chandelier and a distance to the lifts that makes you regret letting the cab go. The Metropark is a... more