Living museum of beautiful woods

The hotel is home to nearly 100 pieces of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) zitan (red sandalwood) furniture and countless rare stones, calligraphy and paintings from the past 400 years. Photos provided to China Daily

Wang Shixiang, a revered connoisseur of Chinese art, had always hoped to have a museum built in the architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties to display the furniture of that period. He wanted to create an experiential museum for visitors to observe traditional Chinese ethics and dignity.

Lv Garden aims to become just that, where guests can literally travel back in time to an ambiance of grace and beauty.

Its quadrangle courtyards are built in the northern and imperial styles, as opposed to the landscaped miniatures of the Suzhou gardens. Walls are painted in red, buildings observe a strict symmetry and beams and pillars are intricately carved and lacquered.

Quiet ponds are embellished with complex nine-turn bridges and gilt-topped pavilions. Every latticed window is a picture frame showing off a natural scene that ensures "a new view at each different step".

The ancient practice of separating living areas between the elderly and young in the family, superiors and juniors, has created a pleasing layout that preserves intimacy and privacy.

Each guest room enjoys a certain level of solitude with views blocked by rockery and screens of bamboo plants, or a subtle change of level up and down stairs.

Lounge areas, meeting and boardrooms are scattered but conveniently connected by winding corridors to the private rooms. Almost every public area has a large picture window to allow a full vista of the koi ponds and water features in the gardens.

Of course, Lv Garden also offers guests the complete hotel experience, with modern facilities such a gym full of high-tech equipment and conference and meeting facilities with all the full equipment.

In addition, guests can expect to be pampered by chefs who can whip up feasts that include Chinese, Japanese and Western cuisines, depending on preferences. One highlight is Yan Cuisine, named after the garden's owner and based on China's major cuisine styles. Vegetables and free-range eggs and poultry come from owner's own farm.

Lv Garden only has suites, and they do not come cheap, ranging from 4,000 yuan to 16,000 yuan ($654-2,614) a night. But, it will be a stay you will be talking about for a very long time.

The hotel is managed by the State-owned Hotel Kunlun, which is an associated company of the Shanghai-based Jinjiang International Hotels Group.