Hello everyone, I’m Zhou Si, today’s part-time editor filling in, whose main job is to be the most photogenic little assistant to the entertainment boss. The reason I’m forced to work today is that I took on extra tasks 🫣 and spontaneously applied for a topic. I told Fast-paced about Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent trip to China, where he stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in Shenzhen, and I thought that an article about visiting the Shenzhen Mandarin Oriental would surely be a hit.
So, I took the hot pool photos inspired by C Ronaldo.
I also got to stay in a suite that C Ronaldo had occupied; rounding it off, I can barely say that I indirectly experienced the room he stayed in.
I even checked in at the gym where Ronaldo trains every day. The background music started playing: “I blew the evening breeze you blew too, so do we count as embracing?” A meeting across time and space is another kind of romance.
There’s also the spa that Ronaldo and various other celebrities visit; word has it that he enjoyed a spa session at the Shenzhen MO. Ronaldo knows how to enjoy life, and I need to learn from him!
Having experienced Mandarin Oriental, I can consider it a successful indirect way of being a fan.
However, I was dumbfounded when I returned; Fast-paced Cai Cai actually said that after enjoying, I had to write a little essay. Well, the room, dining, and spa at Shenzhen MO were all opportunities that Fast-paced Cai Cai graciously secured for me, and that means I have to submit a report. I lamented that my total score for Chinese in the college entrance examination was 150, and I barely passed with 60 (lying to gain sympathy from the boss). Today is truly going to be a miserable ordeal. If today’s essay isn’t good enough, feel free to blame Fast-paced Cai Cai; I’m just a guest editor (immediately shifting the blame). But rest assured, today’s photos and short videos will be excellent, thanks to our talented, photographer teacher Xiao Yun, a seasoned ‘00s photographer using a 907x100c camera!
Almost all major cities have a Mandarin Oriental, and the Shenzhen one is the ninth in the country, also serving as a hotel that offers a panoramic view of the bustling city of Shenzhen.
At 79 stories high, this place boasts Shenzhen’s proud skyline, and you can even see Hong Kong from afar.
Being a skyscraper hotel, Shenzhen MO provides telescopes in its executive rooms and suites. The day after checking in coincided with heavy fog; the view outside was a misty Shenzhen, appearing as eternal as an Eastern ink painting. And here I was, atop the city, feeling a sense of regal dignity that comes with being so high up.
While we didn’t get to stay in the same suite as Ronaldo (perhaps too greedy), like other players, we settled for an executive room.
Our teacher Xiao Yun mentioned that she has visited more than half of the nine Mandarin Orientals in China, and the Shenzhen MO is arguably the most photogenic; everything you shoot looks stunning. Be it capturing the architectural spaces…
Or photographing portraits, I ended up with a series of MO-themed photos (feeling a bit smug); working away in such a place is already taxing enough, so snagging some company benefits isn’t a crime. If you think our teacher Xiao Yun’s photos are great, feel free to give a thumbs up! 👏
Having enjoyed the company’s travel perks, the hotel also offers considerate services. When staying at MO, you must bring a book and place it prominently in the room. MO usually provides bookmarks. Each MO has its unique bookmark, and they are all visually appealing. This time, I managed to snag a branded folding fan from the Shenzhen Mandarin Oriental!
Usually, I don’t wear glasses, but I also brought my glasses case. If MO notices your glasses, they will kindly provide you with a lens cloth.
The slippers in the room are incredibly comfortable, making you feel like you’re walking on clouds, and I recommend taking them with you. But upon trying them back home, I realized that what makes you feel like you’re on clouds is actually the carpet at Shenzhen MO.
For frequent visitors or VIPs, remember to express your affinity for the fans. Each Mandarin Oriental has its unique fan. The one at Shenzhen MO is inspired by Guangdong’s lion dance with a distinct Lingnan style, making it worthy of collection. During our stay, we expressed a strong fondness for the fan, but the staff didn’t seem to catch on. Next time, we’ll have to send Fast-paced Cai Cai to charm them; he might need to show his face multiple times!
The following text is a step-by-step exploration of the Shenzhen Mandarin Oriental alongside Ronaldo. Most high-rise skyline hotels like to have their entrances lead you through winding paths before reaching the main lobby, creating a sense of dramatic reveal. However, Shenzhen MO is different; it truly escalates luxury from its two-story entrance to the 79th-floor MO Bar.
During Ronaldo’s China tour, the bus transporting the Al-Nassr players must have dropped them off right here.
With a direct elevator, we reached the 78th-floor sky lobby, where most guests check in, though a VIP like Ronaldo would certainly check in from his room.
On the 78th floor, there’s a lounge called Lotus Hall, and I had seen earlier that the Al-Nassr team dined there.
Generally, the afternoon tea draw in more customers, with stunning high-altitude views. Outside the window is the skyline of Shenzhen’s Lianhua Mountain Park and Shenzhen Bay.
The floor beside the window even marks the distances and longitudes to other MO locations in the country.
The gym where Ronaldo spends hours is located on the 68th floor. Athletes are disciplined, and holding Ronaldo’s photo, I questioned the same age fast-paced Cai Cai, asking why he doesn’t have a body like Ronaldo’s. After all, Ronaldo is already 39! I hope the slogan from Keep rings in the boss’s ear: “Discipline gives me freedom.”
The Shenzhen MO gym is impressive, with ample space, excellent views, and top-notch equipment. Technogym is reputed as the Ferrari among fitness equipment brands.
The flaming pool where Ronaldo took photos is also on the 68th floor. With those muscle lines and facial shadows, who could resist enchanting eyes!
Rounding it off, I could say I’ve used the same pool as Ronaldo. Once again, I marveled at how stunning Shenzhen MO’s flaming pool is. The cave-inspired design concept, the soaring 30 meters high, the dark style, and the fusion of water and fire at the pool’s edge—perfect for photographs!
The spa is also on the same floor, featuring therapy rooms, Pilates studios, and a vintage men’s grooming salon, where Ronaldo had also experienced treatments. Lying down, listening to the staff gently share, “Put down digital devices and return to the real world,” I realized this is what contemporary people always seek—a realm for peace amidst the mundane.
Additionally, Shenzhen MO’s pastry kitchen prepared a special cake for Ronaldo.
The pastry shop is a hallmark of MO, and they are consistently praised for their desserts.
Next, I mused about the presidential suite at Shenzhen MO. Lotus Hall, the gym, the pool, and the pastry kitchen are all post-worthy on Instagram. I guess Ronaldo surely stayed in the presidential suite; after all, being the great Ronaldo, it’s only expected. This suite is genuinely grand.
The bedroom is spacious, and I stood before the large floor-to-ceiling windows and the sizable bathtub, lamenting the poor weather today!
What follows is purely my imagination. The hotel didn’t disclose the specifics of what Ronaldo did or ate at the Shenzhen MO. I completely understand this since hotels like MO are nearly obsessive about protecting their guests’ privacy.
Ronaldo must have sampled Chinese cuisine during his visit, and Shenzhen’s MO Chinese restaurant is among the best. The restaurant is named “Dong Wan,” overseen by Master Chef Huang Jinghui, who is renowned for running Michelin two-star “Jiang” and multiple Michelin one-star restaurants. Naming the restaurant after himself in a hotel like MO illustrates his strength.
Dong Wan, delicious!
To describe it, my experience as a guest editor has been quite tiring! But for Dong Wan, I would certainly return for more!
