Photos: China hotel opens with polar bears on show

Bedrooms' windows face onto the pen, visitors told the bears are their '24-hour-neighbors'

Last updated: March 12, 2021 | 17:14

AFP and Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor

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Beijing: A Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the non-stop viewing pleasure of its guests opened Friday to immediate condemnation from conservationists.

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At "Harbin Polar Land" in northeastern China, the hotel bedrooms' windows face onto the bears' pen, with visitors told the animals are their "neighbours 24 hours a day".

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A video shows the bears photographed by crowds of guests under warm lights, in a space consisting of fake rocks and icicles, and a white painted floor.

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People look at polar bears inside an enclosure at a newly-opened hotel, which allows guests views of the animals, from rooms on the premises in Harbin, northeastern China's Heilongjiang province

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Harbin is famous for its ice-carving festival, and the hotel resembles a giant igloo, with its roof topped by artificial ice.

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Chinese authorities recently changed the law to ban the consumption of wildlife for food, after speculation over the origins of the coronavirus nudged investigators towards a Wuhan market selling animals.

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But the use of parts of endangered species in traditional medicine remains rampant, and Chinese circuses and zoos are often criticised for poor standards in animal housing and care.

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People look at polar bears inside an enclosure at a newly-opened hotel, which allows guests views of the animals, from rooms on the premises in Harbin, northeastern China's Heilongjiang province

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People look at polar bears inside an enclosure at a newly-opened hotel, which allows guests views of the animals, from rooms on the premises in Harbin, northeastern China's Heilongjiang province

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People look at polar bears inside an enclosure at a newly-opened hotel, which allows guests views of the animals, from rooms on the premises in Harbin, northeastern China's Heilongjiang province

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