Shimao Group enhances tradition, culture in high-level villa product line

Shimao Group, which specializes in real estate development, has added a top-level villa product line - the Shimao Loong Series - to its total portfolio of five residential product lines. Loong is a symbol of the Chinese nation, with the company building the Shimao Xishan Loong Palace in Beijing.

Shao Liang, assistant president of the company, said that Shimao is well aware of the responsibility and the mission in this era, holding the expectation of inheriting and reviving the culture through the buildings, to make the magnificence and ambition of this era fresh again.

The Loong series, launched on Wednesday, embraces the concepts of "inheritance" and "renaissance", representatives from Shimao said, taking "rare" and "non-replicable" as its standard for site selection.

It also integrated cultural elements such as poetry, paintings and elegance into the buildings. Executives at Shimao said they want to explore cultural confidence and life wisdom through the series, which grew from their respect for Chinese civilization.

Shimao, which has developed for nearly three decades, has a long history of integrating Chinese traditional culture into the design and construction of its buildings.

Shanghai Shimao Riviera Garden, Shimao's residential project located in Lujiazui, the financial hub of Shanghai, has a Suzhou traditional garden in its core area. The traditional garden boasts tile carving and pavilions, like a small museum of such gardens.

Shimao's Classic Chinese Chic Series villa product line continue that philosophy: In Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, buildings in a mountain boast tile carving and gray-green roof tiles. In Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, Shimao's Classic Chinese Chic Series buildings extracted the province's ancient cultural elements and comprise white walls and wood windows carved with flowers and trees.

The company's exploration of Chinese cultural renaissance is seen in more than just its construction forms. It helped Shanghai bid for the World Expo in 2010 and was committed to museum construction and preservation of cultural relics.

Shimao has built cities' cultural landmarks for several years, and many of its projects have helped cities to upgrade their industries and boost economies. All these originate from foresight and a strong sense of responsibility of the group, an industry leader, its representatives said.

Shimao has built a luxury hotel in an 88-meter-deep stone pit in Shanghai and plans to complete a building that is about 700 meters tall in Shenzhen. The two projects represent the company's pursuit of bringing architectural dreams into reality, they said.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/23/2018 page5)