First glimpse of China's £225 mn luxurious 'quarry hotel' that has opened inside an abandoned pit (14 Pics)

China's latest luxury hotel yesterday opened inside an abandoned quarry after nearly a decade of construction.

InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, a much-anticipated £225 million project, is built onto one side of an 88-metre-deep (289-foot-deep) pit in the south-western outskirts of the financial hub.   

Draping down the rocky pit as if a glitzy waterfall, the 17-storey, 336-room hotel has two floors above the ground and 15 floors underneath, including two lowest levels that are submerged in a man-made pond. 

Although the hotel's opening ceremony was held yesterday, guests will only be able to check in from next Tuesday, according to a spokesperson.

Glitzy: InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland has opened its doors after nearly 10 years of construction and £225 million

Deserted: The impressive 'groundscraper' is built onto one side of a former quarry (pictured before construction) in Shanghai

Room with a view: The 17-storey hotel has 336 guestrooms including underwater suites that are situated in the lowest levels

Stylish: The hotel has an underwater seafood restaurant, called Mr Fisher, as well as a bar, called the Quarry Bar (pictured)

Most of the rooms at the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland look out to an artificial waterfall on the opposite side

The hotel also boasts a series of adventurous activities, including rock climbing, and a nightly light show (pictured)

A dragon sculpture is installed at the entrance of the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland which opened yesterday

The hotel has also installed a glass-bottomed footpath, an extremely popular type of attraction in China, on its rockface

The idea of building a high-end resort there was proposed in 2006 by the hotel's developer Shanghai Shimao Group

The building, which is 'essentially upside down', was designed by a team of architects from London-headquartered Atkins

The designers have drawn inspiration from Chinese people's love for water, rock and small footpaths in the mountains

Via a wooden staircase (pictured), guests would be able to walk down the 88-metre-deep (289-foot-deep) pit to the hotel

Construction of the hotel began in 2009 and nine years later, the unusual hotel has finally welcomed its first group of guests

The deepest level of the quarry hotel is nearly 700 metres (2,297 feet) lower than the top floor of the world's highest-hotel-to-be, the J Hotel. The J Hotel is currently under construction in the upper floors of the Shanghai Tower (right)