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
-
Find bubbly, chewy, perfectly crusted pizza at Cosetta, LA’s new Westside Italian gemLocated in a slightly industrial area by the Santa Monica airport, Cosetta, from pizza maestro Zack Pollack, champions the local Italian dining scene with tradition and innovation
-
Oscar Niemeyer: a guide to the Brazilian modernist, from big hits to lesser-known gemsArchitecture master Oscar Niemeyer defined 20th-century architecture and is synonymous with Brazilian modernism; our ultimate guide explores his work, from lesser-known schemes to his big hits; and we revisit a check-in with the man himself
-
French skincare brand PERS doesn’t believe in overcomplicated routinesFrench skincare brand PERS – an acronym for ‘protect, enhance, repair, and stimulate’ – has recently arrived in the UK. The mastermind behind it, Dr Anthony Calmon, tells Wallpaper* about his protocol
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
-
Prada and Wong Kar-wai dream up a cinematic restaurant in ShanghaiPrada partners with Wong Kar-wai to bring Mi Shang Rong Zhai to life, a dining experience influenced by the arthouse director’s seminal oeuvre
-
Enjoy heritage views and contemporary brews at a new Beijing caféJM Café, White Pagoda Temple by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio nods to the history of the Xicheng District while injecting a shot of vitality
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
China’s Alila Shanghai hotel is a stylish hub of idle tranquillityAlila Shanghai, the brand's first urban resort in Greater China, is a serene bolthole amidst the pulse of the Jing'an district
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
Travel back to the Ming dynasty at Beijing’s new Mandarin Oriental hotelMandarin Oriental Qianmen merges traditional culture with contemporary needs in a 600-year-old historical building complex
-
Inside Palazzo Versace Macau, a lavish, mosaic-rich hotelPalazzo Versace Macau, the brand’s first hotel in Asia, continues to preserve Donatella Versace’s swanky hospitality vision
