Peace Hotel​ is Wai Ka-fai’s directorial debut​​ and stars Chow Yun-Fat in his last Hong Kong film before leaving for Hollywood. The film tells the story of former assassin Wong A-ping (Chow Yun-Fat), who sets up a peace hotel in Shanghai as a sanctuary for people seeking refuge. Ten years later, club girl Shau Shui-man (Cecilia Yip) arrives at the hotel on the run from a group of bandits. After finding out the truth, Wong refuses to let her stay​—​​​a decision which unleashes a wave of bloodshed.

Wai​​’s film debut is ambitious in scope​;​​​ in addition to casting Chow ​​in a new light (bald​​ ​and engaged with ​more sword fighting and less shooting), ​Peace Hotel​ also deconstructs and reconstructs the concept of a hero through Chow​’​​​s heroic and anti-heroic character, presenting a parable of how power corrupts and beauty deceives.

Wai Ka-fai (b. 1962, Hong Kong) worked as a screenwriter at ​the Hong Kong-based Television Broadcasts Limited (​TVB​)​ in the 1980s. After co-founding Milkway Image with Johnnie To, Wai directed the gangster classic Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997). Together Wai and To have directed a number of award-winning box office hits, including Love on a Diet (2001), Fat Choi Spirit (2002), Running on Karma (2003), and Mad Detective (2007).