Photos: China hotel opens with polar bears on show

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.

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".

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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