The construction of Jianguo Hotel was blocked, and Deng Xiaoping instructed: "You can't make trouble if you are reasonable, let alone unreasonable?"

In the early days of reform and opening up, China's tourism industry did not form an industry, and it was still in a state of "five noes", with no concept, scale, market, goal and policy. At that time, the backwardness and embarrassment of the tourism industry are incredible to people now.

In the early days of reform and opening up, tourism has not yet formed an industry, and it is in a state of "five noes", that is, no concept, no scale, no market, no goal and no policy. Hotel reception level is backward, people's concept of tourism is still limited to foreign affairs reception, infrastructure is not perfect, hotels are not enough to live in, and services can't keep up.

1979, Deng Xiaoping put forward in many speeches: "Tourism is promising, so we should focus on it and speed it up." In mid-July this year, Deng Xiaoping boarded Huangshan Mountain. According to the actual situation of Huangshan Mountain at that time, Deng Xiaoping pointed out: Our capital here is mountains, and we need some measures to prohibit the destruction of mountain forests. Deng Xiaoping also put forward specific requirements on diet, accommodation, souvenir development and many other details, such as how to develop Huangshan tourism, and even care about the details of changing sheets.

Du Yili, former deputy director of the National Tourism Administration, recalled: In order to improve hygiene, the sheets for receiving guests should be changed every day. Actually, this is very simple. Now all hotels are changing every day. This is standard. This is our basic industry rule. I didn't know at the time. At that time, the standard of living in China really couldn't be changed every day.

Due to long-term contact with the outside world, hotel design is far behind the trend. There is such a thing. At that time, the State Planning Commission wanted to build an international hotel, and a leader named a famous architect to design it. After the design scheme came out, it was found that the bedroom and bathroom were separated, and people had to go out of the room and cross the corridor to go to the bathroom. Later, the China delegation visited the United States, France and Japan, which opened their eyes: "There is a bathhouse in the hotel room!"

Thanks to the active advocacy of Deng Xiaoping and other leaders, China opened its doors to tourists from all over the world, and overseas tourists flocked to it. 1976, Beijing received less than 20,000 foreign guests a year. 1978, the number of tourists nationwide reached1809,000, exceeding the sum of the previous 20 years, and 1979 soared to 420.

The problem of accommodation has also come. When foreign tourists come to China, more than 80% will go to Beijing. At that time, there were only 7 foreign-related hotels with 5,200 beds in Beijing, and only about 1 0,000 actually reached the reception standard. In addition, some facilities are outdated, frequently maintained and overloaded. Service attitude and management level are far from those of foreign star-rated hotels.

Zhang Shangtang, a former cadre of the Foreign Investment Administration Bureau of the State Import and Export Commission, recalled: The plane has also arrived, and the hotel has not yet been implemented. What shall we do? We will take them to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Ming Tombs, eat roast duck in the evening, watch programs after eating roast duck, perform acrobatics, sing and dance, and then arrange where to live.

Beijing really has nowhere to live, so it sends guests to Tianjin, Nanjing, Shanghai and other places. Even because hotels are in short supply, embassies and consulates abroad must first confirm whether their housing in Beijing has been implemented before issuing visas to foreigners in China.

Some guests have heard the name of Beijing Hotel for a long time. They would rather sit in the lobby than go anywhere else. The capital is still like this, let alone others. Some overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who went to Guilin were arranged to lie on the floor, so someone wrote a doggerel and quipped, "Guilin is the best in the world, and I went to Guilin to live underground ..."

As China has just opened up, the state can't afford a lot of money to build tourist hotels. The shortage of hotels has become an urgent problem. Deng Xiaoping instructed that the hotel should be built for tourism, so you should make up your mind quickly. The first batch can find overseas Chinese and foreign capital, and then develop on their own.

At the beginning of reform and opening up, the country urgently needed to develop tourism to earn foreign exchange. Only by breaking the difficulty of accommodation can we increase the number of tourists to China and improve the efficiency of earning foreign exchange. However, at that time, just after the Cultural Revolution, the financial situation was tight, and it was impossible for the country to spend a lot of money to build tourist hotels. Among overseas Chinese returning to China for sightseeing, there are many rich people who have a lot of hot money and are interested in investing in China.

Deng Xiaoping was keenly aware of this, so he instructed: "What can foreign investors do to build hotels? We should build more hotels with foreign capital, one place 1000 to 2,000 beds. " He also calculated an account: If a foreign tourist spends $65,438+0,000 in China, we will receive $654,380+0,000,000,000 tourists a year, and even if we receive half of them, we will earn $50,000,000. "Two Oils" (oil and tourism) will earn $5 billion a year for ten years and eight years, and our life will be much better.

Shortly after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the State Council decided to list tourist hotels as one of the first industries to open to the outside world and use foreign capital. 1978, the Central Committee appointed Gu Mu and Liao Chengzhi to hold a meeting of officials of relevant provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government in Jingxi Hotel, conveying Deng Xiaoping's views on "promising civil aviation and tourism", "overall planning with the development of tourism as the center" and utilizing overseas Chinese capital and foreign capital.

In order to strengthen the leadership, the State Council formally established a leading group for the construction of overseas Chinese and foreign-funded tourist hotels with Gu Mu, Chen and Liao Chengzhi as the team leaders. There is an office under the leading group, with the director of the National Tourism Administration as the director and the deputy director and executive deputy director as Zhuang.

After hearing this news, many overseas Chinese businessmen and foreign businessmen are in high spirits. They think that China is rich in tourism resources and the construction of tourist hotels is very promising. Within one year, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office had extensive contacts and negotiations with more than 20 overseas Chinese businessmen and foreign businessmen from many countries and regions.

At that time, the state had no experience in establishing joint ventures with foreign investors, nor did it have time to formulate laws and regulations for foreign investors to invest in enterprises in China. Foreign investors are generally worried that enterprises investing in China will not be protected by law. The president of a Japanese company said, "We'll discuss it when your country has a law." Many people can't go on.

When it was difficult to introduce foreign capital to build tourist hotels, Chinese-American Chen Xuanyuan stepped forward. When he learned that in previous negotiations with other parties, because some people were afraid of losing money and were patriotic, China failed to negotiate, he firmly stated: "We should sign a joint venture plan on terms acceptable to all parties in China. My only purpose is to become the first joint venture hotel in China as soon as possible. "

Chen Xuanyuan, an American Chinese, settled in the United States from Shanghai in his early years. He designs and builds hotels in the United States, and also manages and manages hotels. He owns four holiday hotels and 65,438+0 Hilton hotels, as well as a construction company.

According to Zhuang's memory, it was Liao Gong who introduced Chinese American Chen Xuanyuan to us. Liao Chengzhi told Zhuang frankly at that time: "Chen Xuanyuan is my distant cousin, and I know him very well. He talked to me about building a hotel in China. Don't avoid your relatives. Of course, I'm just introducing it, and I will never get involved in specific things. You can say it yourself. "

According to the memories of the parties, Chen Xuanyuan came with his son and an American lawyer during the negotiation. We also invited two lawyers from our country, but neither these two lawyers nor the accountants in specific jobs can speak English, so our negotiators can only talk and act as translators.

During the negotiations, Chen Xuanyuan heard that in all previous negotiations, when China failed because someone was afraid of losing money, he firmly stated: "The joint venture plan should be drawn up on terms acceptable to all parties in China. My only purpose is to become the first joint venture hotel in China as soon as possible. "

Agreement between the two parties: a joint venture of 20 million US dollars to build Jianguo Hotel, with Chinese holding 5 1% and foreign holding 49%; After the cooperation between the two parties 10 years, 10 years later, the foreign party donated its equity to the Chinese side, that is, after 10 years, the Chinese side completely owned the hotel.

The American lawyer who came with Chen Xuanyuan suggested that according to American law, foreign investment cannot be given away, and it is illegal to give it away for free, but it can be transferred with compensation. As for how much money, there is no regulation, which can be agreed by both owners.

After discussion between the two parties, it is determined that after the joint venture hotel has been in operation for 65,438+00 years, 49% of the shares held by Chen Xuanyuan will be transferred to the Chinese side for US$ 65,438+0. So there was a contract of "1 USD to buy a hotel".

Obviously, this agreement is very beneficial to China. All the US$ 654.38+0 million from China is low-interest loans. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is optimistic about this project and willing to provide loans. Finally, the bank provided all the loans under the guarantee of the Bank of China.

On June 7th, 1979, Zhuang presented the report of the State Tourism Administration on the joint venture construction of Jianguo Hotel to the State Council.

It is hard to imagine that such an agreement, which is very beneficial to China, is still opposed by some departments and personnel. At the critical moment, Deng Xiaoping's attitude is clear: Deng Xiaoping's attitude is clear: "To develop tourism, we must build enough top tourist hotels." Chen Yun and Li Xiannian signed the agreement. Hua Guofeng, then Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Prime Minister of the State Council, made a decision: "We have no experience in building a joint venture hotel, but we can give it a try: do it well and promote it later. Maybe that's it.

Although there were instructions from Deng Xiaoping and other central leaders, it was a new thing to use overseas Chinese capital and foreign capital to build tourist hotels at that time, and all parties had different understandings.

After the announcement of the news, it caused a strong shock in China, and there were different opinions on approval, opposition and questioning.

Most of them are opponents. Someone said, "How many hotels in major cities across the country are losing money? Don't loiter.

Another person said, "Zhuang negotiated with foreigners in batches. I heard that the roast duck for dinner is as expensive as the hotel. What does he want? " "We don't have our own Beijing hotel. How can you say you don't care about the hotel? ! ""our satellite can go to heaven, but I'm afraid we can't build a hotel or manage it. If we want to beg from foreigners, wouldn't it be a shame for China people?

Others went to Liao Chengzhi to complain: "Liao Gong, don't let Zhuang negotiate again, isn't it just to build a house?" Add up his treat money and you can build a building! ""sand and gravel should also be imported from abroad. Isn't this worshipping foreign things and flattering foreign countries? " "Build a joint venture hotel? Make an alliance with foreign capitalists to earn money from the people of China? This is a question of class position. China people can't build their own restaurants, but they have to give them to foreign capitalists. It is treason! "

The fierceness of the opposition and the seriousness of the accusations made China people feel a little shudder just coming out of the nightmare of the Cultural Revolution. Twenty years later, Zhuang recalled: "At that time, people debated not only the issue of surname, but also the issue of patriotism or treason ..."

A person in charge of the State Planning Commission said: "I have been to many joint-venture hotels, all of which are losing money. There is such a thing as borrowing money from the outside at a loss! " Some people at the top of the State Council hold different opinions.

No way, Gu Mu, Vice Premier of the State Council, proposed to hold an executive office meeting in the State Council to discuss whether to build Jianguo Hotel.

At the beginning of the meeting, the argument was very fierce. Someone came up with a feasibility analysis on the spot: after 22 years of operation, Jianguo Hotel had to pay off the principal and interest of $20 million borrowed from HSBC, leaving a gap of $20,000. He rudely asked Zhuang: "For the benefit of the country, we are opposed to getting on the horse. Money should be used on the cutting edge. If you want to build a hotel, you can repay this $20,000 within 22 years. "

Zhuang Linyan smiled and said, "I don't even have a dollar now. How can I afford this 20 thousand yuan? " Then he took his time to analyze his feasibility report. After enumerating a large number of data and achievements of Chen Xuanyuan's tourist hotels in the United States, he compared them with the actual situation in China, and finally reached a completely different conclusion: "In 67 years, if it is fast, it will be 89 years, and Jianguo Hotel will be able to pay off all the principal and interest, and it only takes one yuan to earn back a hotel."

The the State Council meeting carefully analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the construction of Jianguo Hotel, and made clear the necessity and possibility of the construction of Jianguo Hotel, as well as the scientificity and inevitability of making profits for the country.

After the meeting, a report was produced and circulated among 17 central leaders. Deng Xiaoping's attitude is clear: "To develop tourism, we must build enough high-end tourist hotels." Chen Yun and Li Xiannian signed the agreement. Hua Guofeng, then President the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Premier the State Council, made a decision: "We have no experience in building a joint venture hotel, but we can give it a try: do it well and promote it in the future. Maybe this is it."

Despite many twists and turns, Jianguo Hotel was finally approved as the first batch of pilot projects to introduce foreign capital.

After the foundation of Jianguo Hotel, it was unreasonably obstructed by some people. Zhuang found Liao Chengzhi with the report, and Liao Chengzhi sent it directly. After reading the report prepared by Zhuang, he didn't say anything, but just instructed 1 1 in a flat way: "You can't make trouble if you are reasonable, let alone unreasonable?"

After getting the project, after investigation, the hotel address was determined as Jianguomenwai Street. Because it is located in Jianguomenwai Street, it is named "Jianguo Hotel", with 20 floors planned, covering an area of 654.38+100000 square meters.

On June 27th 1980, Beijing Jianguo Hotel broke ground.

Designer Chen Xuanyuan personally designed the drawings of Jianguo Hotel. The garden-like architectural style was unique at that time. 30,000 square meters of land has designed 528 rooms, including bars and swimming pools. There are music performances in the hotel lobby and delicious food in French restaurants, which all represent the latest lifestyle.

According to Hou Xijiu's memory, "(the requirement for the hotel at that time) was that the structure must be strong, so the structure of large formwork was adopted; Another is that the guest room must make the guests feel comfortable, especially the toilet is a key point, and female guests should wipe their faces and make up in the toilet. "

The fence of the construction site was put up and the mixer moved in, but another unexpected thing happened. On the construction site, some cadres' children of a ministry in the State Council shouted: Building a house here will not only "disturb the people", but also affect the geomantic omen. As a result, the fence erected at the construction site during the day was quietly destroyed at night and the heavy mixer was overturned. The builder has no choice but to stop work temporarily.

Zhuang certainly knows who did it. He went to the scene to negotiate with the relevant personnel, and the other party was unmoved by his background, and the negotiation was invalid. There is no way, ZhuangYanLin found Liao Chengzhi with the report.

Liao Chengzhi was very angry when he heard what had happened. He patted the table and said, "Lin Yan, you draft a report at once, and I'll send it to the central government to see who is still fooling around like this!"

Liao Chengzhi has profound political experience and is very familiar with the high-level situation. He knows that the average person can't handle such a difficult thing. So Liao Chengzhi sent the report directly to Deng Xiaoping.

After reading Zhuang's report, he didn't speak. He only used the word 1 1 in Xiaoping style to say, "If you are reasonable, you can't make trouble, let alone make trouble without reason?" Ask the secretary to tell him right away. As Liao Chengzhi expected, the instructions had an immediate effect, and those who made waves at the construction site disappeared almost overnight.

Jianguo Hotel broke through many obstacles and was finally completed on April 27th. 1982.

April 28th 1982 Jianguo Hotel opened. Liao Chengzhi attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony in a Chinese tunic suit, and Chen Xuanyuan, who wore a suit and tie and a small square towel on his chest, witnessed this historic moment.

On the second day of opening, Reuters reported: "The first real western-style hotel in China opened in Beijing, which brought the necessary charm to this monotonous and windy city."

Jianguo Hotel became famous from then on. Its delicious dishes, excellent service and high-level management have won high praise from many diplomatic envoys in China, making foreigners look at Beijing with new eyes.

As a witness of China's going out, Jianguo Hotel has received more than a dozen foreign leaders such as former Australian Prime Minister and Cambodian Head of State since its opening.

The success of Jianguo Hotel opened the door to Beijing's tourism industry, and the dilemma of "hotel shortage" ended.

1984 April 13, the central government decided to select 100 hotels nationwide to promote the management measures of Beijing Jianguo Hotel.

At that time, Jianguo Hotel boldly hired foreign professional hotel management companies to combine foreign advanced management experience with China's national conditions and Beijing's characteristics. Jianguo Hotel quickly won the market with its cordial, meticulous, thoughtful and thoughtful management features and services.

It is reported that Jianguo Hotel receives1560,000 guests every year, of which 85% are foreign guests, including hundreds of heads of state and senior officials such as Prince Sihanouk and Margaret Thatcher.

The project team is proud that each of the hotel's 480 rooms is equipped with color TV, touch-tone telephone and central air conditioning-these rare modern facilities remind people that this is the first truly international hotel in China!

Reuters reported: "The opening of the first real western-style hotel in China has brought the necessary charm to this monotonous and windy city."

The Financial Times commented: "In such a city with poor hotel service industry, Jianguo Hotel was praised as the best hotel in the city overnight."

The success of Jianguo Hotel directly broke the argument of "betraying the country" by introducing foreign capital, and also confirmed the profit expectation of the joint venture and cooperation model of "if foreign investors can make money, we will earn more".

According to the joint venture contract and articles of association of Jianguo Hotel reached by both Chinese and foreign parties in 1980, Beijing Jianguo Hotel operates independently and is responsible for its own profits and losses, and implements a modern enterprise system of separating government from enterprises and separating ownership from management rights. This is extremely advanced in the whole country.

After the hotel was built, there was another debate about the house price at the the State Council meeting.

When the hotel was built, the State Council held a meeting to discuss the house price. The usual practice abroad is that investment is related to housing prices, while in China, the price is calculated by bed. The price bureau put forward a plan to limit the maximum price of a room according to the traditional practice.

Zhuang Linyan resolutely opposed it. He repeatedly explained to the other party: "When foreign capital is introduced to build hotels, we have to repay the principal and interest. For example, the ceiling price, will you help him repay the principal and interest? My opinion is that there is no restriction, let it operate according to business, and house prices have nothing to do with the national economy and people's livelihood. " After some discussion at the meeting, the price bureau finally agreed to let go of the customer unit price.

However, the leaders of the Price Bureau put forward a new question: "Even if the highest price is not limited, the lowest price should be limited. If we blindly reduce it, it may wash away all our other hotels. "

Zhuang Linyan is another thirsty explanation ... In the end, the Price Bureau decided not to set any restrictions, allowing hotel prices to operate according to commercial rules and fluctuate reasonably according to the off-peak season.

Liao Chengzhi said with emotion, "If we put a washbasin or spittoon in the leaking corridor at the French President's thank-you banquet, the constant dripping will definitely affect people's mood and destroy the perfect and elegant atmosphere of the whole party. There will be a feeling of poor quality afterwards. "

As Jianguo Hotel is the first high-end joint venture hotel in China, French President Mitterrand, who is visiting China here, specially named him and arranged a thank-you banquet for his visit to China.

At 6 o'clock in the evening, invited envoys from various countries and people from all walks of life came one after another, and the Jianguo Hotel was bustling inside and outside. The official banquet is about to begin, and all departments of the hotel are ready. At that moment, something unexpected happened. The waiter rushed in and reported, "A ceiling leading to the banquet hall suddenly leaked!" " "

what can I do? I have never encountered such a situation before. Chinese personnel held an emergency meeting to find a solution. Some said that they should put a washbasin or other utensils to receive water there, while others said that they should put up a sign saying "Please go around". No agreement was reached.

The foreign manager was also on the scene at that time. He has many years of experience in managing high-end hotels. I saw that he looked at the leaking place and pondered for a while, and immediately ordered a beautiful and responsible foreman in a white shirt and black coat to stand in the leaking place and never leave. On the surface, he smiled to guide the guests, but in fact, he stood there and took water with his body, and others could not see any traces. People at the scene applauded the wonderful plan.

Subsequently, the reception went smoothly, without flaws, and the guests and the host were mixed, laughing and laughing. Witnessed the gorgeous decoration, delicious dishes and excellent service of the hotel, everyone gave a thumbs up. Like discovering a new continent, people expressed their amazement at this new hotel in Beijing. As soon as the thank-you banquet is over, the hotel will make a thorough supplement.

Afterwards, Zhuang and hotel managers sincerely praised the foreign manager's superb management art. Liao Chengzhi couldn't help feeling: "If we put a washbasin or spittoon in the leaking corridor at the French President's thank-you banquet, the constant dripping will definitely affect people's mood and ruin the perfect and elegant atmosphere of the whole party. There will be a feeling of poor quality afterwards. "

Zhuang later recalled: "This also proves from one side that it is correct to introduce foreign capital and foreign advanced management experience and technology."

On July 24th 1984, the State Council issued a notice: calling on the whole country to study Jianguo, which is to promote the management mode of Jianguo Hotel construction throughout the country. Later, the Central Committee also wrote another article for this purpose.

When Jianguo Hotel opened, the profit was 6.5438+0.5 million yuan. Earn more than 4 million in the second year, 8 million in the third year and150,000 in the fourth year. This was astronomical for hotels at that time. Four years later, the operator of Jianguo Hotel paid off the loan of 20 million dollars from HSBC with interest, which confirmed Zhuang's expectation in those years with indisputable facts: "If foreigners can make money, we will earn more."

In fact, economic benefits are only one aspect, and more importantly, we have learned a lot of good experience in management and trained talents for the future development of tourist hotels.

Soon, the performance of Jianguo Hotel attracted great attention from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. On July 24th 1984, the State Council issued a notice: calling on the whole country to study Jianguo, which is to promote the management mode of Jianguo Hotel construction throughout the country. Later, the Central Committee also wrote another article for this purpose. Since then, a large number of high-quality and high-level hotels have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and the reform and opening up in other fields has also reached a new level. The rise of tourist hotels has propped up half of China as a big tourist country.

From the perspective of modern people, it seems a little fussy for the State Council to manage a hotel exclusively. However, in the background at that time, the State Council's post was not only the promotion of hotel construction experience, but more importantly, he showed his determination and attitude to emancipate his mind through the application of specific cases. It shows the world that * * * and China have jumped out of the previous whirlpool, ended their self-isolation, abandoned the habitual thinking of "taking class struggle as the key link" and faced the world with a brand-new open mind and self-confidence.

Jianguo Hotel, as the first Sino-foreign joint venture hotel in the new era, is the "first swallow in the spring breeze" of China's tourist hotel industry, which has had a far-reaching impact on the newly started reform and opening up. At that time, some media evaluated Jianguo Hotel as a "model room" for reform and opening up and the "Whampoa Military Academy" for modern management of China Hotel.

There are so many twists and turns, repetitions and arguments in the process of project establishment, construction and operation of a hotel, which has alarmed so many people. The scope of the debate is wide and the words of opposition are fierce. After more than 40 years, people today can hardly imagine it.

Quite critical. Looking back at that year, it was not easy for a generation of reformers, represented by Deng Xiaoping, the chief architect of reform and opening up, to bravely stand at the forefront of reform, look to the world and look forward to the future, and create a great cause of reform and opening up. How admirable their extraordinary vision, courage, courage and wisdom are at the turning point of history!