City Weekend 2004-02-09

An Autumn Getaway

A feast for the senses, the Red Capital Ranch is the perfect luxurious autumn getaway

Combine cottage culture with Manchurian majesty and a Great Wall backdrop, and you have the ultimate weekend getaway. Just an hour and a half outside of Beijing, nestled in a deep valley, is the Red Capital Ranch, an offshoot of Beijing's renowned and swanky Red Capital Club. The same regality and luxury dished up at the city's club is served up at the Ranch, with touch of the rustic to give a countryside feel.

A car is sent to pick up guests from the city center and most arrive on a Friday evening, escorted along winding stone paths with Ming sculptures and stone figures on either side. Floodlights highlight these sculptures and give hints of the majesty of the valley – the river than runs through the Ranch is lit slightly, and guests need to hop along steppingstones over small ponds to get to their rooms.

Each room is themed: the Thunder Room for example is designed to give guests the impression that they are in a Tibetan mountain-top getaway. Detail is everything at this Ranch – the soaps are inspired by haughty empresses from the past, the water is well-pumped meaning that the tap water is drinkable, the food served at the Ranch restaurant (that overlooks the river) is exquisite and each dish takes a guest back to the time of Emperor Kang Xi and his hunting expeditions. Walnuts, venison, yams, and willow leaves are just a few of the delectable fresh food on offer used in the wide array of dishes.

If guests arrive in the evening, the greatest surprise comes in the morning when upon exit from the small cottages, they are struck by massive mountains on all sides, each topped with a citadel, the wall snaking its way around the ranch and literally crumbling at its base. A short walk around the area can take a guest up the range and onto the Wall, or through neighboring villages where fresh nuts, honey, and fruit are roadside regulars.

Dotted between the village huts and homes are the gigantic results of SOHO's Commune of the Great Wall project. Two of these architectural greats lie within walking distance of the Ranch, one directly opposite.

Autumn should see a flurry of guests heading out to this beautiful getaway. At $188US dollars a night, and the fruits of any autumn feast on offer within a clubhouse with giant fireplaces and warm cozy cottages, the Red Capital Ranch should be on everyone's lists of autumn destinations.

Laura Johnson-Hill

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