A “The New Oriental Garden” created by the magnificent scenery of China and the techniques of Oriental gardens
“Landscape Design of the Xitan Hotel Beijing”

The Xitan Hotel Beijing is located in the foothills of the mountain “Hushan” in the southwestern part of Beijing. On a site of approx. 38 hectares, there is a group of buildings that retain the appearance of a historical village built at the end of the Ming Dynasty, as well as various gardens that combine Japanese and Chinese culture.

The scenery is something that could be called a utopia, created by the interplay of China's magnificent natural environment, the activities fostered by the villagers, and the gardens that reflect the aesthetic sense of the Orient. This is a luxurious resort that has been recognized by Relais & Chateaux, a global organization that only hotels and restaurants that have passed strict inspections can join.

This project started in 2018. The starting point was the client's desire to “create a top-class resort hotel that combines the ‘Oriental aesthetic’ with the mountainous scenery of Beijing, China.” The aim was not simply to create an Oriental garden in China. It was to create a luxurious experience that could only be enjoyed in this specific location, and a landscape that could only be found here.

After climbing up the mountain, passing through the gate, and descending into the valley via a long approach, magnificent long-distance views and philosophical close-up views unfold one after another, inviting visitors to a paradise on earth. A project spanning around five years was launched to create a new landscape that makes the most of the local context.

Japanese gardens originally emerged from Chinese culture. One concept that is common to both is the idea of shakkei (borrowed scenery), which involves incorporating the surrounding landscape into the space. So, the first thing we did was to actually tour the site, standing at the points where the landscape would be most striking, and jotting down sketches of the ideal scene that came to mind.

The concepts and six keywords that were developed in this way are “Bunjinsankyo” (Literati’s Mountain Retreats), “varied,” “mountain colors,” “elegant,” “rustic,” “warm and gentle,” and “tranquil.” The image was of the world of landscape paintings from the Northern Song period.

Sansui-ga is a type of Oriental landscape painting that depicts natural scenery, including people, buildings, and birds and animals, and reflects the Chinese view of nature, which sees spirituality in landscapes. The creation of an “ideal land” that is quietly ensconced on a mountain peak surrounded by silence was set as the major goal of the project.

The symbol of this “Bunjinsankyo (Literati’s Mountain Retreats)” concept is the “Great Waterfall,” which has a drop of approx. 30 meters, and is located at the end of the long approach that descends from the gate to the valley. This waterfall, was created using the techniques of an Oriental garden, and is a bold and precise combination of stones. Together with the pavilion and the planting, it creates a landscape that unifies the distant and the near, as if the water stored in the mountains in the distance had gushed out to the ground.

In this way, we assessed the distant scenery as “borrowed scenery” in each individual location, and while also taking into account the historical nature of the old village, we designed an ideal sequence for each location using the techniques of the Oriental garden, and constructed the overall landscape.

After many trips back and forth between China and Japan, the overall plan was decided after thorough discussions with the client, and actual construction began in January 2020. In order to realize the “utopia” that the client and the design team were aiming for, we adopted a thorough “on-site” approach.

The method involved the designers working with the client on site to decide on the details based on their own experience. After conducting repeated surveys of materials, the team selected materials for the landscaping, such as stone and plants, and supervised the work of local craftsmen. The design team stayed on site for a long time and controlled all the processes. One of the reasons for adopting this approach was to make the most of the local environment that had accumulated from the history of the former village, and to focus on “ornamental stones,” which are an important element of gardens common to both China and Japan.

A wide variety of stones were collected from all over China, from the north (Inner Mongolia) to the south (Ningbo City), as well as from Japan. The heaviest stone weighed 16 tons. Working with local craftsmen, we carefully considered how to stack the stones in each location, at what angle, and in what position, and then composed each place with great precision.

The design that was completed in this way, named the “The New Oriental Garden,” makes the most of the local context. It is a landscape that combines the dynamism unique to China with the delicacy of Japanese garden techniques, and is unlike anything that has come before.

In August 2023, more than a year after the garden opened in May 2022, Beijing and the surrounding area were hit by torrential rain that delivered the largest amount of rainfall in the history of observations over several days. The damage was enormous, with more than three million people affected.

The Xitan Hotel Beijing was also damaged, and the design team went to China again to work on recovery. What they did there was not just recovery work, but also a redesign. For example, the “Great Waterfall” was damaged by heavy rain, which washed away the ornamental stone, but they not only repaired the landform from a disaster prevention perspective, but also added new steps, widened the width of the flow, and added a mechanism that changes the number of waterfalls depending on the viewing angle.

The damage caused by the unprecedented natural disaster has been transformed into a more disaster-resistant, more magnificent and beautiful landscape. This can also be said to be the result of a thorough on-site approach. Nikken Sekkei is involved in a wide range of landscape projects around the world, from large public spaces to private gardens, but this project in particular could become a new design process.

The project was carried out based on a shared natural view common to the Asian region, with the client and design team aligning in vision and exchanging ideas. The “on-site approach” allowed us to move forward with a sense of speed and consistency from concept formulation to design and construction, and we were able to realize the ideal image we had in mind.

“The New Oriental Garden” created through this project is not a matter of style. It was born from the maximization of the unique opportunities presented by the client and the location, using all available techniques and methods. The approach of finding common elements in the natural views of the Asian region and integrating and sublimating them into a design that is unique to the location is a new model of landscape design that can only be presented by Nikken Sekkei.