• A former palace with stunning Chinese architecture and a fascinating history
• Exclusive hotel with a “Club” philosophy-for the connoisseur.
• Chic, sophisticated oriental decor
• Central location close to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
• Authentic Sichuan cuisine and a 920’s style bar and cigar bar.
The Whole Story
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. These were the first words a friend in Hong Kong used to describe the China Club in Beijing. ‘You'll love it,’ she said. ‘It’s just like staying in the film but with great food.’ And she was right.
Situated down a quiet hutong (typical Beijing lane) not far from the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, this former palace has changed very little since it was built in the seventeenth century for a son of Emperor Kang Xi of the Qing Dynasty. Remarkably, virtually all of its architectural features have survived intact. This no doubt has a lot to do with the fact that for four decades it housed one of the best restaurants in Beijing - it was the favourite Szechuan kitchen of Deng Xiao Ping, the Chairman of the Communist Party post-Mao. Eventually, however, despite the restaurant's reputation and stellar clientele, at one hundred thousand-plus square feet (divided into countless smaller dining rooms), it was too large to sustain, particularly in the newly competitive Beijing. Even the patronage of the country's number one leader was no longer enough.
When the opportunity arose a decade ago to take over this historic property, Hong Kong-based tycoon, art collector and fashion entrepreneur Sir David Tang didn't hesitate.
An extensive but sensitive renovation project was embarked upon and completed so successfully that it's impossible to spot such giveaways of modernity as air-conditioning units, even though there's one in every dining room.
The true beauty of the place is the way it's divided into pavilions. Everywhere you go, there's another hidden courtyard, private dining room or secret bar. Design-wise, Tang has nonetheless adhered to the idea of a club, a supper club that also happens to have some very smart overnight accommodation. Best of all, if you stay here there's really not much reason to go out because the China Club plays host to one of Beijing's most successful `scenes. Every evening at around 7pm, an entire convoy of shiny black limousines with tinted windows pulls into the cramped first courtyard. Elegantly dressed ladies of leisure, fat captains of industry and the odd media glamour puss step out into the almost film-set environment of the Beijing China Club. Even though the surrounding towers of glass and steel serve as a reminder of the new dimensions of China's capital, there's still something distinctly nostalgic about the whole experience. The China Club is chic, cosmopolitan and decadent, in a 1920s Shanghai sort of way; it's a place for long, silk cheongsam dresses split at the side and sober black suits.
What is perhaps most impressive about the China Club, is its seductive use of colour. We always associate China with the colour red, but traditional Chinese interiors are far more multicoloured than you'd expect. At the China Club, yellow, purple, royal blue, light blue, cream, black, orange and green –chartreuse, olive and lime – all feature as part of the decorative palette, along with plenty of gilding. Yet despite the profusion of colour, it has been used in a deliberate and systematic manner. Colour guides you from one space to the next, and distinguishes one room from another. Within the private dining rooms, the chromatic schemes are pared down to two or three hues. There is, for instance, a yellow dining room accented with purple silk and dark timber, just as there is a cream-coloured private dining room with black furniture and splashes of green and orange.
In the guestrooms, colour has been limited to dark red or chartreuse green Chairman Mao-style club seats in boucle velvet with white lace armrests. These rooms are unlike any you're likely to have been in before. The bed is hidden in its own alcove in the centre of the space, divided from the living room and the bathroom by corridors created with Chinese-patterned timber trellis panels that also provide a decorative focus. The effect is reminiscent of the film Raise the Red Lantern. There is nothing vaguely 'hotel room' about these suites, and even the towels break vividly with tradition. Hotel towels are almost always white or cream. At the China Club they're bright pink. Never did I think I'd be walking around in a pink bathrobe, but such is the power of a mysterious and seductive environment
The Rooms
The Club boasts an area of 10,000 square metres of four main courtyards and surrounded by a series of inter-connected pavilions. Extensive renovation and carefully furnished Chinese antiques have restored the buildings back to its royal ambience and glory. A three-storey Chinese pavilion was added to the complex in 1998. This pavilion houses our eight uniquely designed members' suites. Junior or more spacious Club Suites are available.