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At the feet of Sleeping Beauty2005/07/01
Text and photos by Andrew Correia At about 50 kilometres--only an hour and a half’s drive from Beijing, soon to be cut to about 45 minutes by the completion of the Beijing -- Chengde expressway--is the Village View Resort. Village View was originally designed to serve the needs of Chinese businesses, but the owners soon began to invite foreign companies to host conferences and business meetings there as well. Operated by a Chinese–German partnership, the resort is located at the foot of “Sleeping Beauty” mountain, with Lake Yanqi to the south. As the calligraphy scroll over the resort’s reception desk says: “The only sound you will hear is the sound of frogs croaking by the lake at dusk.” Indeed, for guests used to the hustle and bustle of Beijing, the sudden quiet of the countryside comes as something of a shock. The village aims to provide pastoral balm for the tired urbanite, but it also provides a place for companies to hold meetings, conferences or to engage in team building exercises. There is a large conference room, equipped with all the necessary IT support (including ADSL “hotspots”) and private seminar rooms. On the same floor there is a lounge/bar which can be used to provide refreshments during seminar breaks or as a piano lounge in the evening. But, although the space is perfect for corporate events, it can be used by others, whether for wedding banquets, parties or other gatherings, which can be held in the resort’s large, ground-floor restaurant, on the veranda outside the restaurant overlooking Lake Yanqi, or on one of the resorts grassy lawns. Room prices range from 650 yuan (US$78) for a standard room with a twin or king-sized bed and bathroom to 6,280 yuan (US$720) for a courtyard apartment with seven, Jacuzzi-equipped guestrooms. The Town Houses have private verandas overlooking the lake where tables and barbecue ranges can be set up for private functions. The courtyard houses are all decorated according to a traditional style and some of the kang (old style Northern Chinese beds built over a wood burning stove) can even be heated in winter by a fire underneath them. Village View also offers a whole range of activities from the sedate to the highly active. One can bring friends and a yoga instructor and turn a courtyard residence into a yoga retreat or take advantage of a resident masseur. An indoor multifunction room offers the chance to play ping-pong, badminton or indoor tennis. Outdoors there are a couple of tennis/basketball courts. The grassy fields provide ample space for baseball and football games. Should one wish to partake of water sports, the village borders on a lake where dragon boating, fishing and diving can be arranged. When finished exercising, you may find you have worked up a healthy appetite. This is no problem because the resort has an excellent restaurant that provides a choice of Western or Chinese cuisines, the latter from various parts of China, including For those who are attracted to more energetic events there are three sections of the Great Wall within 50 minutes of the resort at Mutianyu, Jian Kou and Huang Hua. Also nearby is a small airfield where gliding lessons and flights can be booked. Even children are not left out. There is an adventure playground just outside the Bleachers bar, so tired adults can relax and keep an eye on their children as they play. Should you wish to drop the children off at summer camp and have some quiet time to yourself, Village View offers a five-day package with three days looking after your children for you, providing also sorts of physical and cultural activities that should keep even the most active child occupied. Village View Resort Tel: +86 10 6066 1166 Fax: +86 10 6715 6719 E-mail: service@villageviewresort.com.cn WWW: www.villageviewresort.com.cn. |
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京ICPè¯050057å·http://www.miibeian.gov.cn