China in his hands

They call him ‘the man who wants to paint the World red', and as far as symbolism goes, Mr Bin Hu's recent visit to Dubai left little room for misinterpretation. Planting a Chinese flag firmly into Middle East sand, the president of real estate developer Zhongzhou International Holding Group (ZIHG) made his mark on the World both literally and figuratively.

"The World project is one of the eight wonders of the world, so when I came to Dubai to look at the World, and I saw that Shanghai Island was still available for sale after four years, I immediately knew I had to take it," he reveals. "I said to Nakheel: ‘Name your price!'"

It is exactly the kind of reaction the Dubai-based property developer would have hoped for when it invited Bin Hu to join one of the most exclusive clubs on the planet. According to the company's sales strategy, each year Nakheel invites 50 people - constituted of celebrities, business elite and assorted royalty - to come and view the World project. Today, around 40% of the 300 islands that make up the World have been snapped up, and Bin Hu jumped at the chance to become involved.

"A few months ago I received an invitation from Nakheel to come and look at the World," he recalls. "It was a surprise, but I was very happy and very excited to get the invitation, and I immediately scheduled a visit to Dubai."

Such invitations act as a golden ticket to one of the most elite addresses on the planet - provided you can stump up the US$15m to US$50m just-the-basics asking price - and Bin Hu was immediately struck by the opportunity to create something truly unique on the 322,000-sq ft island. At US$28m, his purchase of Shanghai on Nakheel's man-made archipelago made headlines around the globe - and he is not finished yet.

"This project is not a normal project; it is not like any other project; it is unique and a piece of history," he says, emphasising each word with a shake of his fist. "It is one for the heart, and I am very proud that I will be able to construct Shanghai Island in Dubai."

Bin Hu's vision for ‘Shanghai Island' is a striking one, and one that will require a significant remodelling of the existing island. So much so, that ZIHG is still in negotiations with Nakheel over the project's masterplan.

"The island will be split into two parts, the first with a super-luxury hotel and resort, and the second part with super-luxury, palace-style villas," he explains. "The concept of Shanghai Island is that it will really be a ‘Mini Shanghai' in terms of its shape, and to do so we will construct a river in the shape of an ‘S', like the Huangpo River that bisects Shanghai in China."

Either side of the river, the island will represent the Puxi and Pudon districts of the province for which it is named. The two land masses will be connected by a tunnel, which will also feature an extravagant "crystal palace", to host conferences and special events under the surface of the Arabian Gulf.

"We are in negotiations with Nakheel with regards to the river, but I am not concerned because the designs are fantastic," insists Bin Hu. "The concept of this idea is to bring the Chinese culture to Dubai, and Nakheel is very keen on this."

By ‘culture', he is referring to the construction culture of the Asian nation. Indeed, a glance at the proposed plans indicates that while Shanghai Island will echo its inspiration in shape, the project is not intended as a ‘Chinatown Dubai' concept. "Shanghai and Dubai are very similar in that they are very multinational cities, and the design of Shanghai Island reflects that," Bin Hu explains. "We will absorb construction styles from all over the world, to make this project truly multinational."

Effectively, seven architectural styles will be represented on Shanghai Island - "Spanish, Mediterranean, Italian, German, British, French and American". The different districts will bear the distinctive hallmarks of their respective inspirations, from the colonial architecture of the Spanish empire, to the modernity of the US. "We will have different styles all over the island, and Nakheel is giving us excellent support with this," enthuses Bin Hu. "This is what will make the project a unique attraction, and I am very confident that we will have approval to proceed very soon."