InterContinental Hotels Zhengzhou Zhengdong

The building is shaped after the Chinese character "中", meaning "center", a nod to Zhengzhou's old identity as the heartland of the Central Plains. That ambition carries inside: the rotunda lobby has a coffered drum ceiling and a cylindrical light column that makes you look up whether you planned to or not. Rooms are calm and well-tailored, with marble bathrooms and brass-framed vanities. The 25th-floor club lounge looks out over Zhengdong New District.