One bijou resort at a time, intrepid hoteliers are making steady in-roads into China’s vast interiors of pristine countryside.
The latest to catch our eye is Miya, a 21-room property tucked into the crook of a valley formed by the green-shrouded Tiantai and Siming mountains in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.
The Shanghai-based Ares Partners converted a cluster of 1950s granary buildings into a calm modern compound of white oblong volumes lined with deeply set eaves, low stone walls, and capped with classic Chinese clay roofs. Inside, old false ceilings were removed to reveal soaring timber roof rafters, whilst existing windows in the minimalist bedrooms have been widened to impressively frame the mountain-scape.
By all means, venture out for the 700-year-old Xujiashan stone village and the Wushan grottoes that date back to the Song dynasty – just get back in time for resident chef Cao Zhengcao’s chicken stewed with wild mushrooms, and steamed saltwater razor clams.
