After checking in to our brand new state-of-the-art hotel here in China, I can't help but be a tad confused about the name of it - Seagull Hotel. It could be that the seagull is a more respected bird here in China than back home, but to me a more suitable name for the five-star hotel (if I were to stick with the bird theme) would be Eagle Hotel or Peacock Hotel or even Snowy Owl Hotel - anything but the Seagull.

Everything about the hotel is classy; the oversized rooms, the overstaffed lobby, the fitness center, the restaurant, the beautifully landscaped property. Everything, that is, except the name.

I'm not really complaining though, because at $68 bucks a night, it's not hard to get past the name.