Yangzhou State Guesthouse was recently rated as the first five-star hotel in Yangzhou in southern Jiangsu.

Located adjacent to the Thin West Lake the hotel occupies an area of 20,000 square meters with more than 300 rooms and can accommodate 2,000 people for dining. Yangzhou State Guesthouse began to apply to be rated as a five-star hotel in April 2007 following a series of upgrades and refurbishments.

According to a local tourism administration officer, in the next two or three years, several five-star hotels from groups such as Jinling and Shangri-La will open for business in Yangzhou.

(China Hospitality News July 30, 2009)