When Art Meets Picturesque Countryside

By Leng Mei

Located near Xiaokangkou village， Fuchunjiang township in Hangzhou’s Tonglu county — known as China’s “Most Beautiful County”， Qinglongwu has been developed into a well-known area of B&Bs （bed & breakfast） in recent years. With a stream winding along the valley and the grand Fuchun River flowing nearby， many a wanghong （famous through social media） guest house are concentrated in this area. In fact， the real Qinglongwu village is tucked at the end of a narrow path. From a high point of view， the shape of the stream looks like a blue dragon. Two hot springs are the dragon “eyes” and the green mountains are the dragon “back”. Hence the name Qinglongwu： Qinglong literally means “green dragon”， while “wu” refers to the terrain of the place， with a concave in the center.

Unsurprisingly， around this well-preserved ancient village with a history of 200 years， there is such fertile soil for arts. The valley， which zigzags for miles， is now full of architectures and installations by prominent architects and designers.

The Liuyun （Flowing Cloud） Corridor and the Cloud Stage， designed by Sou Fujimoto， a renowned Japanese architect. The Liuyun （Flowing Cloud） Township Villa， a B&B guest house， by the British couple Justin Bridgland and Jaycee Chui. The Shrine of Whatslove， a red triangle robotically woven carbon-fiber structure， devoted to love and marriage， by Yu Ting， an award-winning Chinese architect. The Viewing Tower， a wooden installation， the work of John Lin C. H.， an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Hidden inside the bamboo forest at the back are the Yitingting Cottage， a courtyard filled with Zen， an infinity swimming pool， the bottom of which are mosaic artworks， and the Reflection Stone， a 3D printed product. In the One Person’s Gallery nearby is collected the sketch of Lu Xiaoman （1903-1965）， painted by none other than Xu Beihong （1895-1953）， one of contemporary China’s greatest painters. Finally， the Yanjiyou Bookstore， designed as a “capsule”， stands high above the mountainside， where one can always stare at the starry sky at night.

They are all parts of the Fangyukong Cultural and Creative Complex， one of the leading projects of the Tonglu Dadi Art Festival. Indeed， behind each piece of work lie moving stories.

When Sou Fujimoto， the Japanese architect， first arrived at Qinglongwu in Tonglu， it happened to be the rainy season. The dense rain curtains were saturating the mountains and forests， and the clouds and mists steamed over the terraced fields. The century-old village with rammed yellow mud walls was half hidden and half visible. As if standing inside the ink wash painting Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains， Fujimoto was simply spellbound. He was instantly inspired to create a cloud-like flowing corridor that wraps around， floats above the village and goes all the way down the terraces to the stream. The end result？ The Liuyun （Flowing Cloud） Corridor.

The Viewing Tower standing at the entrance of the Qinglongwu village was John Lin’s work in Yunnan province， which was erected using the remains of an earthquake-damaged home. It was hoped that local villagers could climb into the Viewing Tower and watch their homes being rebuilt little by little. After being showcased at the 2018 Venice Biennale， the Viewing Tower was shipped over to Qinglongwu village， where it has since been. The Shrine of Whatslove is a favorite place for couples to confess their love. With advanced digital technology and robotic algorithms， the structure was woven from a 7，200-meter-long red line， more an artistic installation than an architectural piece.

When anyone looks at the Yanyijiu Bookstore， they could be forgiven for their astonishment in coming across such a tall and transparent three-story building in a winding valley. A walk on a summer night is the best way to “read” it. With starlight and fireflies leading the way， cicadas and streams singing softly， the valley under the night sky is quiet and yet mysterious， and inside the bookstore， the light of thought shines on each page of the books. Designed by Atelier TAO+C studio， the bookstore uses the traditional rammed earth structure， incorporating various new design elements.

Through a glass curtain wall， which is more than seven meters high， one can see rows and rows of solid wood bookshelves. Old beams overhead， age-old earthen walls on the other three sides and black-brick ground contrast sharply with a modern leisure space， as the view of the mountains constantly comes into sight.

Walking into a bookstore is like walking into a dream. A two-story earthen house is changed to three stories by raising the roof and sinking the floor， and the design of “a building within a building” has ultimately made it into a structure with four levels that not only functions as a bookstore， but doubles as a capsule hotel. The combination of a capsule hotel with a bookstore is familiar to anyone who has visited the Tsutaya Bookstore in Japan. Behind each curtain is a capsule room， spacious enough for one person to sit and rest， just like the compact private space that one enjoys in their dormitory rooms during student years.

While planning for only a small B&B at the beginning， Wang Hechong， owner of the Liuyun （Flowing Cloud） Township Villa， never thought the project would turn out to be such a big hit， bringing together a group of designer friends for his idea. For Wang， it seems that everything is simply destined to be.

In May 2019， Wang and his wife relocated to Qinglongwu， in a small courtyard called “Pigsty”， which， naturally， was originally a real pigsty. Moving away from the hustle and bustle of Shanghai and living in the mountains with sunrise and sunset， surrounded by green mountains and clear water — this is the life he and his wife have been pining for. The Liuyun （Flowing Cloud） Township Villa was also a gift to his wife for their 12th wedding anniversary.

“My wife and I got to know each other in an outdoor club. At that time， we spent every weekend climbing and camping in the mountains of Jiangsu and Zhejiang， deeply attracted by the invisible ‘force’ in the countryside，” said Wang. Because of COVID-19， the couple spent most of the past few months in Qinglongwu. Fortunately， they could enjoy the comfort of reading. They took good care of their garden， walking their dog in the mountains and managing the guest house business.

Many may argue that leaving those big cities and settling in the countryside is too much an escape， to which Wang disagrees. “Hangzhou and Shanghai are only one to three hours away by car，” observed Wang. “Through the internet， we can easily obtain information from all over the world anytime and anywhere， and quickly connect with cities.” Sometimes， when Wang travels to Shanghai for meetings， he can go back and forth to Qinglongwu on the same day.

For now， Wang and his wife have decided to commit their future to the place. They have no reservations. They are devoting themselves wholeheartedly to their career and living the life they aspire to. With the transportation and time costs of working in the city saved， Wang believed that he now has more time to live a fuller life. “I began to care about vegetation， about nature，” he said. “I started to plant vegetables and experience the joy of farmers. I have more free time to travel and grow; this is the life that my wife and I really crave for.”