Twenty miles outside of Shanghai, an abandoned rock quarry in the Sheshan Mountain range has been remade into the subterranean InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland. It “seamlessly fits into its environment and does not go against it,” says Martin Jochman, principal and design director of JADE+QA Architects, which teamed up with design firm CCD/Cheng Chung Design on the mostly underground concept. Reminiscent of a villain’s lair in a James Bond film, the futuristic resort plunges 16 stories into the quarry, including two fully submerged floors that are surrounded by expansive aquarium tanks. Zinc-colored panels, glass, and a landscaped roof help the hotel blend harmoniously into the jagged rock formations.

Dividing the 336 contemporary guestrooms is a striking central glass atrium that appears like a waterfall cascading over the cliff edge to the base. Housing the observatory elevators, it binds “the whole building together, both functionally and visually,” says Jochman. The Quarry Bar reflects the site’s mining past with bronze and copper tones and pipe flange details, while the lobby reveals views of the rocky cliff line with wall surfaces that recall rock strata. Still, the hotel entrance’s stainless steel dragon sculpture, “a powerful and timeless symbol in Chinese culture,” he points out, best captures what the hotel is all about: majesty and awe.