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They are the high-end of the high-end and an integral part of Shanghai's skyline but has the city now got too many five-star hotels? Shanghai's luxury hotel market has boomed since the Hilton Hotel near Jing'an Temple opened in 1987. Hilton was the first five-star hotel in Shanghai financed by foreign capital and managed by an overseas hotel group.

Second only to Beijing, Shanghai has more five-star hotels than any other city on the Chinese mainland and many other cities in the world. Six years ago there were 26 five-star hotels in Shanghai. By last year there were more than double that number with 53 five-star hotels in the city, according to the Shanghai Statistics Bureau. No one knows where it will end.

"I learned from a hotel industry conference that at least four more five-star hotels will open in downtown Shanghai this year. And by 2014, when Shanghai's Disneyland is running, another 25 five-star hotels will be open for guests," Song Hong, an HR manager from 61HR.com, one of China's leading recruitment websites for the tourism and hotel industry, told the Global Times.

Five-year strategies

Many of the world's leading hotel groups including Marriott, Hilton, Starwood, InterContinental and Shangri-La have said that Shanghai will play a large role in their development strategies over the next five years.

The world's leading hotel group, InterContinental, had opened 150 hotels in China by 2011 with another 150 under construction. Hilton is building another 47 hotels across the nation on top of the 14 already operating. Hilton aims to have 100 hotels welcoming guests in five years. Marriott, Starwood and Shangri-La also have expansion plans for China.

In Shanghai the growth of international hotels has been remarkable. In 2010, a staggering 10,174 luxury hotel rooms (four and five star) were added to the total already in the city. Last year another 3,840 rooms were opened and in 2012 4,899 more are expected to be available, according to Sanlian Life Week magazine.

Along the Bund in Puxi five top-level hotels including the Peace Hotel, the Peninsula Hotel, the Waldorf Astoria, Hotel Indigo and the Hyatt were opened or renovated over the last two years, not to mention the Kerry on the other side of the Huangpu River.

"In fact there are far more than the 53 officially listed five-star hotels in Shanghai. I would say at least 70 are actually doing business," said Qiu Yongqiang, the secretary-general of the Hotel Industry Branch affiliated to the Shanghai Tourism Trade Association. "Many have not yet had their star rating approved by the government because there is a one-year application process."

Qiu said most of the five-star hotels planned in the coming years will be located in the suburban areas of Shanghai like Chongming Island, Songjiang and Jiading districts.