Parents or friends visiting? If they're culture lovers, perhaps a little outré or simply prefer an alternative to the corporate monoliths dominating Beijing's high-end hotel scene, hope has now arrived in the form of Yi House. Nestled in the northeast corner of the 798 Art District near D-Park, the hotel lays claim to not only being Dashanzi's first but also one of the few boutique hotels in Beijing worthy of the name.

Occupying a former wasteland on the site of a 19th-century crystal factory, Yi, a year-and-a-half in the making, styles itself as "a place art lovers can call home" - which means you won't just be finding art on the streets and galleries of 798 but also in the hotel itself. Photographic portraits by Chi Peng hang in every suite, permanent Bauhaus graffiti murals by Franck Privat flank the building and the lobby features new exhibitions, curated by owner Shauna Liu, the first displaying Italian photographer Marco Beretta.

All 30 rooms are decorated in a blend of traditional Chinese art styles and art deco modernity. "Too much Chinese is too heavy," explained Liu, a former banker who surprises by having no professional training in art, despite having designed all the furniture. "The primary colors are black, white and green," she told Lifestyle. "I don't like minimalism - too boring - but I also don't like things too noisy."

The unusual lift that greets guests in the main lobby, resembling a tiled shower, seems to establish their ethos, a vigorous change from the drab formalism favored by those Hiltons and Westins. Features like the glass bathroom wall in the superior suite (3,200 yuan), which fails to conceal the most intimate toilet from one's fellow guest, will suit the bohemian tastes of their more ostentatious visitors. A view of the bed in the same room is blocked by a wardrobe featuring a pleasing modern interpretation of a traditional Chinese classic baizitu (Portrait of a Hundred Kids), the meaning of which seems to hint playfully at what lies behind.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments