WITH the Shanghai Mansion on one side and baroque style old buildings on the other, the Astro House Hotel - or Richard's Hotel, as it was once known - stands at 15 Huangpu Lu, overlooking the river of the same name.

The hotel was built in 1846, during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). According to the memoirs of John Benjamin Powell, the prominent American journalist who led The China Weekly Review in Shanghai in the 1930s, the hotel was originally built by an American sea captain named Richard. After him, many foreign sea captains became managers of the hotel. Though there is only vague information about "Richard" in official documents, the hotel's decorations say much about the identity of its first owner: the corridors and floors were similar in colours and patterns to those found on ships. Around 1860, the hotel was sold to Henry Smith, who changed the name to the Astor House Hotel.

In 1906, the hotel was moved to the north end of the Baidu Bridge, formerly called "Wei'ersi Bridge". In the following year, the five-storey building was rebuilt in Ionic and baroque styles. That is the Astor House Hotel which people see today.

The hotel was an important place for most celebrities in Shanghai before 1949. Every afternoon, the city's upper-class would gather in the hotel lobby for afternoon tea. Among them could often be found the American consul general, tycoons, bankers and even opium-dealers. Rumours, gossip and the most recent news was discussed there. When night came, there was always an orchestra to perform for those who were dining at the hotel. Almost every prominent foreign figure came to this hotel for dinner. The first lamp and the first telephone in China appeared there.

A glance at early guest lists reveals many glittering names: the former US president Ulysses S Grant, English philosopher Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein and actor Charles Chaplin, to name a few.

In 1998, the Astor House Hotel joined the International Youth Hostel Federation and began serving budget travellers. After a century and a half, the old hotel has taken on a new life. (Based on Song Luxia's Shanghai Hotels)