One of the icons of Tianjin's historical European architecture, the Astor Hotel completed a 2 year long renovation with a lavish gathering this past Saturday. Originally built in 1863, the hotel was one of the first of it's kind in China, and served as host to various guests, including U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, China's last emperor, Puyi, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, and former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Previously operating by itself, the Astor has now been re-opened and re-tooled as part of Starwood Hotel Group's Luxury Collection, becoming the first Starwood property in China to receive that distinction. Photos from the opening celebration, as well as more details about the property, are available after the break.

At the last Thursday Mixer in Tianjin, we had a few unexpected guests: members of a rock band from Hangzhou. It was a little too late to add to the events calendar, but a couple of people from the mixer were able to make it to their show at 13 Club on Friday. We managed to get in a couple photos before they packed up and headed for Qingdao, so take a look after the break to see what you missed.

After taking a bit of a break last week, the Tianjin Business News Update is back with a little extra padding to make up for lost time. Stories for this week's update include news that a former Tianjin official has been sentenced for bribery, a new tourism expo appears to be headed to the city, and a new deal that was announced to build the world's largest propelyne plant.

Many people who have lived in Tianjin for some time may recognize Maigo as the colorful shopping mall located on Binjiang Dao. After successfully opening on Binjiang Dao, a second branch was opened on Nan Ma Lu in 2008. Since the location is no longer in the CBD of Tianjin, Maigo Time Square has turned out to be not only a business failure, but has also brought much trouble to those people who invest there.

With the completion of work on the Fukang Lu overpass nearing, the western and northern section of the City Expressway is now open to traffic. The new road will ease pressure on the middle and outer ring roads in the west of Tianjin and reduce travelling times (at least temporarily).

A construction crane snapped in half in Tianjin's Hongqiao District yesterday, smashing into a nearby parking lot. 2 workers were killed instantly, while 2 others were injured, one in serious condition. The accident occurred at approximately 9:00am yesterday, near the intersection of Jiuyuan Xi Dao and Xianyang Lu. Rescuers spent 20 minutes trying to rescue a worker who became trapped in the crane, about 15 meters up. Another part of the crane smashed into a nearby parking lot, wrecking 5 cars, but fortunately causing no further injuries. The exact cause of the accident is still being determined.

Tianjin is set to become home of one of the world's largest shopping malls. In other  business news this week, energy saving methods in the Eco City are detailed, Tianjin stocks get a boost, a new factory opens up, a mining exhibtion comes to Tianjin, and Tianjin will finally stop getting growing sometime in the next decade.

Main construction has just been completed on a new aquatic museum located in the Xiangluowan Business District, in Tanggu, Tianjin. The Polar Ocean World Museum has now begun the fine detail work on the project. Starting in August, they will begin to fill the pools with up to 135 marine species from around the world, including sharks, beluga whales, and dolphins.

The first car for the new number 3 metro line came off the assembly line today in Qingdao. The new trains are designed to operate in 6-car configurations, each holding to 240 passengers, for a total capacity of 1,440 people per train. 162 cars are scheduled to be built, with the first 8 being delivered this year, and the rest by October 2011.

In this week's business update, Tianjin gets robotic, while Isetan puts on their overalls and heads out to the farm. In addition, a Singapore developer looks to expand in Tianjin, Okay Airways gets some new toys, and China's housing market heads for a bit of a slump. Check out the stories after the break.