China - 5 unusual retreats for you

Commune by the Great Wall Kempinski

Just an hour's drive from downtown Beijing, you will find 42 villas with a total of 236 rooms and suites spread over eitght kilometres of hilly terrain adjoining the Great Wall. The Commune is an architecture museum, luxury resort and natural spectacle all in one - a popular location for corporate retreats, meetings, and conferences for up to 500 guests.

Directions: Badaling Highway, exit at Shuiguan
Website: Commune by the Great Wall Kempinski


Fuchun Resort

Forty kilometres from Hangzhou and 250 from Shanghai, this resort has 70 rooms and suites plus 17 villas nestled among the hills above the scenic Fuchun River. Enjoy some tempting East-West fusion cuisine at the award-winning T8 restraunt without worrying about extra pounds. These can easily work off again anyway on the 18 golf course on in the spa gym.

Directions: Fuyang Section, Hangfu Yangjiang Road, Hangzhou
Website: Fuchun Resort


Hotel of Modern Art

Who would have thought it? The Guilin region of South China boasts more than just a spectacular natural scenery. It also has a stylish design hotel, HoMA, set in a private park containing sculptures by artists from every corner of the earth. You are welcome to take a peek over the artists' shoulder as they work - or even take up a hammer and chisel yourself!

Directions: Yuzi-Paradise, Dubu Town, Yanshan District, Guilin
Website: Hotel of Modern Art


Banyan Tree Lijiang

Not far from Lijiang (whose old town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997), the Banyan Tree from Singapore comprises 55 villas decorated in the traditional Naxi style and has plenty of opportunities for guests to relax: in the private garden or the pool, at one of the hotel restraunts or luxuriating in the spa. The panoramic views of nearby 5,600-meter Jade Dragon Snow Mountain are thrilling and soothing at the same time.

Directions: Lijiang, Yunnan Province
Website: Banyan Tree


Jia Shanghai

Jia Shanghai offers style-conscious guests a wonderful home away from home ("jia" means home). The hotel's Italian restraunt and its rooftop bar and lounge are design to attract the chic set from Shanghai.

Directions: 931 West Nanjing Road. , Shanghai, Tel. +8621 62179000
Website: Jia Shanghai