Located in southern China’s Guangxi region, the county of Yangshuo features a dramatic landscape filled with stunning karst mountains that overlook the Li River. Were you to be transported back in time to the 1960s, you would here find yourself within a thriving sugar mill. Today, the mill’s reclaimed buildings are a part of a luxury hotel, the Alila Yangshuo.
Designed by Dong Gong of Vector Architects, the newer elements of the space have been added with all the due reverence owed to the land’s heritage buildings. Indeed, these have become the hotel’s best features, although there is stiff competition in the form of the hotel’s one-of-a-kind pool (made from the old sugarcane dock), the 1969 Bar with on-site rum distillery, and the Sugar House Restaurant.
The hotel is accessed through a peaceful bamboo river boat transfer that makes for an elegant introduction to the region. Expect spectacular views throughout and a trip through the local traditional fish market. Once you’re there, your biggest problem is likely to be which of the hotel’s activities to embark on first, but we favour the Yulong River biking.
For more information, visit Alila Yangshuo’s website.
