Come discover 100 of the most romantic small hotels and places in the world.
Home to historic palaces, forts and villas where the emperors, generals and scholars of China lived and ruled. Between the 2008 Olympic stadium and the Forbidden City is a string of lakes, including picturesque Houhai Lake.
Originally the guesthouse for the empress dowager, this sprawling compound of historic and new build structures adjoins the Summer Palace gardens.
T +86 10 5987-9999. 51 rooms. US$ 550
www.amanresorts.com
A former 500 year old house where Ming dynasty entertainers for the Imperial court stayed is now a boutique hotel located in an historical hutong district of Old Beijing.
T: +86 10 6512 8020. 14 rooms. US$ 168-
www.hotelcotecourbj.com
Located on a mountain plateau in the northern part of China, Shanxi Province contains the ancient city of Pingyao, one of the last remaining walled cities in China. Pingyao hosts some of China’s best-preserved traditional architecture and mostly stands as it was during its heydays in the late Ming and Qing dynasties. It has been listed since 1997 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its old town was featured in the movie classic Raise the Red Lantern.
This luxurious house located in Old Town was once the residence of a Qing dynasty silk merchant. Its rooms are spread around four interlocking courtyards and have lacquer headboards and kang-style beds, all made by local artisans.
T: 86 0354 5841000. 19 rooms. US$ 175-
www.jingsresidence.com
Shangri-la’s medieval capital.
Avoid the bland new western hotels and experience Tibet as a local by staying at this heritage hotel. Upscale Tibetan courtyard house transformed into a boutique inn and tearoom with traditional ethnic fabrics and artwork, painted ceilings and hand-carved beds.
T: +86 10 6402 7151/52.10 rooms. US$ 60-
Located in Yunnan Province of Greater Tibet, some 10,050 feet above sea-level, this world heritage site sits amid tranquil lakes, snowcapped mountains and the rivers Mekong, Salween and Yangtze. The town features Tibetan monasteries, a car-free Tibetan-style Old Town, and people in traditional ethnic garb.
The design of these villas was inspired by traditional Tibetan lodges, only a much more luxurious version. This romantic hotel is located 40 minutes outside Zhongdian.
T: +86 88 7828 8822.22 rooms. US$ 400-
www.banyantree.com
A rich history dating back 5,000 years. In the mid-19th through early 20th centuries, Shanghai was known as the “Paris of the Orient”. At this time, it became a booming cultural and financial center—the Chinese port of entry for tens of thousands of European and American businesspeople who made their home in Shanghai’s International Settlement and French Concession. With its plane-tree-lined-streets and gracious villas, the French Concession is Shanghai’s most coveted address today.
In the 1920’s Eric Moller, a wealthy Swedish businessmen, built this surreal looking fairy-tale villa for his daughter. Located in the former International Settlement.
T: +86-21 6247-8881. 43 rooms. US$ 40-
www.mollervilla.com
Designed by a French architect in 1932, the five story white limestone hotel captures the essence of old Shanghai with an artful blend of Classic French and Asian ambiance. It overlooks the former French Concession and was originally the club house of Du Yue-Sheng, China’s most powerful syndicate boss.
T: +86 21 5403 9888. 30 rooms. US$ 420-
http://mansionhotelshanghai.com
A 100 acre fenced compound of lovely gardens, grounds and 1930’s-era buildings in the middle of the French Concession. Ask for a romantic hotel room in the Old Villa overlooking the gardens.
T: +86 21 6472 5222. US$ 170-
www.ihg.com
The region is located in mid-lower reaches of the Yangtze River, 112 miles and a one hour train ride southest of Shanghai. It includes scenic rural beauty with terraced tea plantations as well as a large prosperous city, Hangzhou. Here you’ll find gorgeous pagodas, historic temples and 13th-century bodhisattvas and Buddhas carved into mountain cliffs. Not that well known to the outside world, this area has inspired Chinese poets and artists for centuries.
Located in the mountains above Hangzhou, this romantic hotel is an example of Aman-style restrained rustic sophistication. The compound was once an entire village manned by tea harvesters; its stone floored homes have now been converted into suites. Some of the rooms have breath-taking views of the carved cliffside Buddhas.
T: +86 571 8732 9999, 42 rooms. US$ 550-
www.amanresorts.com
This bamboo covered mountain once lured Shanghai’s elite as a getaway retreat. Located a 3 hours drive from Shanghai, the hillside station is being rediscovered again.
High ceilings and old wood floors are found in this restored French country house made out of recycled materials overlooking a tea plantation. Its garden contains 12,000 rose bushes.
T +86 572 8052958. US$ 315-
Formerly known in the west as Canton, this prosperous subtropical province is located on the South China Sea next to Hong Kong. China’s southern most province includes the surreal bamboo forests of Nankun Mountain Reserve.
Set within the bamboo groves of Nankun Mountain Reserve, this ecolodge features an open-sided organic restaurant, plush interiors with poster beds, and rammed-earth walls.
T: +86 752 769 3666. 56 rooms. US$ 175-
http://crosswatershuizhou.com
For 442 years a Portuguese territory; since 1999 part of the People’s Republic of China.
Located in Southeastern China, midway between Hong Kong and Vietnam, the Li River Valley is famous for its landscape of Karst mountains, green hills and winding rivers, resembling a beautiful Chinese painting. The main town, Yangshou, once popular with the backpacking crowd, is now a popular tourist destination.
On the bank of the Li River, an old sugar mill takes on the heritage setting for a modern retro design resort. Opened in 2017.
T: +86 773 8883 999 117 rooms. US$ 250-
https://www.alilahotels.com/yangshuo
