Project name: Shangrila-Hotel Yiwu
Project Site: No. 6-8 Futian Road, Yiwu, Zhejiang
Area: 60000 square-meter
Project Type: Business Hotel
Design Consultant: YANG & Associates Group
Chief Designers: Yang Bangsheng, Chen Anyun, Tian Shuai
Opening Date: June 24th, 2017
Photographer: Ma Xiaochun

There is merely a city that can be compared to Yiwu, for it combines ancient and modern, the Orient and the Occident so perfectly. This legendary county is famous for its small commodities market and is now introduced to the world again thanks to today’s “Belt and Road Initiative”. Looking back to its hundreds and thousands years’ history makes one feel like step into a flourish forest. Ancient wood and bricks, delicately decorated and carved columns, crowded market and revolving corridors are clearly remembered by the people in Yiwu. YANG has managed to making all these precious moments into Shangri-La Hotel, Yiwu, an urban space full of memories and hopes.

Although located in Yiwu World Trade Center, a busy downtown area of the modern city, the hotel stands out alone with its ingenious spacial features, which exudes a peculiar charm of Jiang’nan (regions south of the Yangtze River)-- gray-green bricks and tiles, wharf walls, winding corridors and lattice windows, etc. After thorough research of local cultures, YANG extracts and redesigns local patterns and textures so as to present them in different forms in various spaces, such as using traditional Yiwu wood lattice as wall decoration, ceiling design, etc. This makes the whole space a transparent and delicate wooden drawing, which has an inherent ancient elegance in every detail, and also grants the space luxury and fineness at the same time. 

Shops in various scalesmake classic scenes on the streets of the city, and it is these uncountable shops that have created the glory of today’s Yiwu. YANG tries to reinterpret these scenes in a trendy and modern way in the space, by using red bricks with historical aesthetics, wooden doors and windows decorated with local totems. The combination of materials and techniques has made the dialogue between the ancient and the modern possible. 

The Dongyang woodcarving, which can be dated back to theTang Dynasty, is famous for its long history, rich variety, vivid charm and exquisite craftsmanship. YANG chooses the filial piety culture of China as the theme, and sets exquisite wood carving niches in the lift lobby, making it a space with function, aesthetics and profound meanings.

People in Yiwu has being creating beautiful lives with their diligent hands. Many small commodities selling in the market today are made in Yiwu. Considering the importance of small commodities to Yiwu, YANG recreates  handwork workshops in the specialty restaurant. With exposed pipes, splicing original wood and antiqued metal textures, the space looks very industrial. And the crisp sounds made by dishes has perfectly interpreted the metrical beauty depicted in Bai Juyi’s master piece Song of a Pipa Player.

The prestigious poet Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty has wrote another line to praise the beauty of Chinese rose, saying “It is the most beauty thing sanding in the courtyard when spring comes”. As the city flower of Yiwu, Chinese rose is used as a major pattern in the space, which can be found on the carpets in hotel lobby, ballroom and guestrooms, carrying best wishes for the city. Corresponding to rose patterns in the carpet, the rose-shaped chandelier in the lobby looks even more fabulous, which creates a gorgeous spring scene in the space.

When carefully pondering on spacial arrangement, YANG observes the history from a macro perspective and precisely extracts cultural elements of Yiwu, making sure the serenity and luxury of Shangri-La are fully interpreted in the modern narrative of this ancient city. In addition to paying homage to local history and culture, YANG also shows international visions in the design, seeking the past in the modern town while projecting future through ancient trails.