Wuyuan Skywells — Wuyuan, China
It’s too early to tell for sure, but China’s picturesque rural landscapes, far from the bright lights, and noisy tourist crush of its metropolises, may well be the country’s answer to Italy’s Tuscan and Umbrian pleasures. This is especially the case as more neglected old piles are restored and repurposed with sensitivity and fidelity to architectural history into millennial luxury boltholes.
Wuyuan Skywells is one such example, Beijing-based anySCALE has breathed new life into this third-century-old inn in east China’s Jiangxi province, refitting the long, shaded corridors with their original brick and clay walls and interlocking courtyards of stone and timber into a remarkably slick 14-roomer in which past and present collide aesthetically with pleasant results.
In addition to working with a local artisan who restored and adapted worn and damaged decorative carvings around the property, anySCALE harnessed the skywells – a common feature in this generation of architecture to bring light and air into inner spaces – to accentuate the high-ceilinged bedrooms.
After a tour of neighbouring villages nuzzled against the sides of misty mountains along ancient postal trails lined with wild wisteria and azaleas, return for executive chef Hong JiYong’s spicy, local menu featuring delicacies like butterflied and steamed red carp from the hotel’s pond.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
Sixi Yancun
Sikouzhen
Wuyuan
Jiangxi Province
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
DAB 1α electric motorbike is the first product from French manufacturer DAB Motors
The DAB 1α is an all-electric motorbike born out of industrial design, gaming culture and aviation technology, and now available to order
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The 2024 Ivor Novello nominations for songwriting have been revealed
77 British and Irish songwriters and composers make up this year's nominees, announced tonight at London's Groucho Club
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Why Bollinger’s La Grande Année 2015 champagne is worth celebrating
Champagne Bollinger unveils La Grande Année 2015 and La Grande Année Rosé 2015, two outstanding cuvées from an exceptional year in wine-making
By Melina Keays Published
-
Inside Palazzo Versace Macau, a lavish, mosaic-rich hotel
Palazzo Versace Macau, the brand’s first hotel in Asia, continues to preserve Donatella Versace’s swanky hospitality vision
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
24 hours in Copenhagen: stay, bike, dine, and discover Danish design
Plan your 24 hours in Copenhagen: sleepover in a former brewery, wake up with a wild swim, and immerse yourself in the home of a modernist master
By Simon Mills Published
-
Peter Beard’s biographer, Christopher Wallace, on writing the wild life of the quintessential Twentieth-Century Man
Author Christopher Wallace traces the footsteps of the original playboy-artist-activist Peter Beard, travelling from Kenya, to the Serengeti, Cassis and beyond
By Christopher Wallace Published
-
Estelle Manor is a chic take on the hotel and country club
Estelle Manor, a transformed Grade II-listed house and estate in Oxfordshire, welcomes guests with Roman and Williams interiors, parasols by the pool, and a soon-to-open tepidarium
By Henrietta Thompson Published
-
Off-beat eco-lodge Sun Ranch opens in the Byron Bay hinterland
The 1970s-inspired Sun Ranch estate has been envisioned by a collective of friends from Australia’s fashion and hospitality scenes
By Monique Kawecki Published
-
Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya opens following a major redesign
On the Yucatán Peninsula, the new-look Maroma showcases local craftsmanship and Mayan tradition with interiors led by interior architecture studio Tara Bernerd & Partners
By Charlotte McManus Published
-
A weekend in wonderful Copenhagen
The ultimate weekend in Copenhagen starts here: discover the latest openings across the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture, stay in a hotel afloat, start your day with brilliant baked goods and ski down a power-station piste
By Simon Mills Published
-
The Largo brings craftsmanship and creativity to Porto
The Largo is the latest hospitality offering in Portugal's second city, conceived as an elevated residence with an art programme that connects it to the city’s creative community
By Tom Howells Published