Hotel offers authentic ancient experience

As I fasten my seat belt before takeoff from the ultramodern Daxing Airport in Beijing, I notice I am sat next to a grey-haired Taoist monk dressed in a robe. I know I'm heading somewhere special.

"May there be mercy and I'm grateful for your existence," says the Taoist via voice message on his mobile phone. Midflight I begin to feel the sense of peace promised by my destination－Yutopia.

Yutopia Wuyi Mountain Retreat, a newly-opened Chinese-style luxury hotel operated by Shimao Group, is tucked away in Wuyi Mountains in East China's Fujian province, an important center of Taoism.

Although Wi-Fi is available, I feel cut off from the modern world the minute I step into the hotel.

Inside and out, the hotel is of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) style. Hotel staff wearing Song Dynasty clothing greet guests by bowing with hands held together－a traditional way to greet people in China.

"A cultural consultancy was hired to ensure that everything is authentic Song," says Wen Li, a senior executive of the hotel.

An accidental look up at the lobby's ceiling gives me a pleasant surprise－the ceiling is actually an upside-down board for the game Go; the white playing pieces mixed with the black ones, serving as lights.

Upon exiting the lobby, I see what is perhaps the most beautiful sight in the hotel－glass-walled classical Chinese buildings cloaked in mist. They face a stretch of water adorned by flowers and an arched stone bridge called "Painting the Shadow". A backdrop of the fabled Dawang Summit completes the picture.

My first tour of the hotel is done not on foot but by boat.

Sitting in a bamboo raft, breathing in the crisp, clear air, I take in the beauty of the lush vegetation and the even lusher villas on the banks, using as many senses as possible and of course my camera, with its lens cloaked in the river mist..

The waterways snaking through the villas are something the hotel takes great pride in. They are built according to the local Nine-Bend Stream as described in a poem by Zhu Xi, a Confucian scholar of the Song Dynasty who spent decades in Wuyi Mountains.

All the 143 guest rooms and the 56 villas of the hotel are designed to recreate the lifestyle of the literati in the Song Dynasty.

Upon entering my room, the first thing that catches my eye is a replica of a painting by prominent Song Dynasty painter Cui Bai.

The room is largely wooden and is fitted with Song-style furniture and decoration.

On the table sits a rolled-up felt mat. Upon unfurling it, I see a scroll of Zhuzi's Family Instructions written in calligraphy. Guests can write over the lightly printed characters using a brush and ink provided－a way to practice calligraphy for beginners.

Thanks to my curiosity, I found two complimentary tea packets lying quietly inside a drawer. Nothing extraordinary for a hotel room, but they are Dahongpao rock tea and Rougui tea, both famous local specialties.

On the packaging of the toiletries are lines taken from classical Chinese poetry that fit the function of the item inside. For example, one line that compares integrity to a crisp fragrance is printed on the toothbrush package to describe fresh breath.

"We went through thousands of poems to find the right sentences,"Wen says. "It took great effort because we didn't want to change the original words."

Without compromising on authentic culture, the rooms also offer the latest modern conveniences, including a glow-in-the-dark high-tech toilet with every function I can imagine.

The highlight of my stay has to be the Song Dynasty fair, where performers in ancient clothing reenact scenes of a bustling Song Dynasty street. I'm immersed in the peacefulness of nature during my entire stay in the mountains, which I hope could stay with me a while longer before I return to my hectic life in Beijing.