It has also developed products like duplex stainless steel rebars for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge project, mass-produced ballpoint pen tips and an extremely thin stainless steel sheet called "hand tear steel".

Lights at all of the offices throughout China are turned off during non-business hours and print limitation and duplex printing have been implemented to conserve paper.

Renovated from a duplex of historical buildings by the Bund, of which one used to be a power station built in 1929, the new Shanghai Edition Hotel is the latest addition to real estate mogul and hotelier Ian Schrager’s portfolio of properties around the world.

Duplex stainless steel produced by the company has been used for the Three Gorges project, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and nuclear power plants in China.

The company said it made a major breakthrough this year by launching its duplex stainless steel products－high-strength steel with lots of chromium－in Europe's high-end materials market.

"A variety of long-term anti-corrosive materials, such as titanium alloy pipes, heat-resistant alloy pipes and super duplex stainless steel pipes, have been used," Pan said, emphasizing that these made the Bacalhau a low-maintenance vessel and would allow it to meet its 30-year designed life without any dry-docking requirements.

Qin Hao, a father of two boys, spent more than 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) to buy a 200-square-meter duplex apartment in Pudong New Area of Shanghai in 2014, which allows his kids to go to a well-known public primary school in the district.