MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A national press conference is being held for Wei Chen and the Wei Around the World Expedition at the Peabody Hotel on Friday, May 20th at 2 P.M. The conference is sponsored by The Peabody Hotel of Memphis. Mayor AC Wharton and Mayor Mark Luttrell Jr.

The Peabody hotel in Memphis says it spent about $200,000 building the Duck Palace, a rooftop domicile for its famous ducks. The 24-by-12-foot enclosure features granite floors, a large viewing window, a scaled-down replica of the hotel and a swimming fountain adorned with two bronze ducks, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported Wednesday. It was just due, Kelly Earnest, The Peabody's director of public relations, said of the reasons for building the new duck abode.

Plans have been announced for a joint collaboration between the City of Little Rock and The Peabody Little Rock for a redesigned Riverfront Park to include a new children's adventure playground, Peabody Park, scheduled to open May 2008.