Pioneering 'green' hotels choose Doumen eco-resort

The Lingnan Earth Eco-Resort National Rural Complex in Doumen District is to harbor an international five-star Delta Hotel with 280 rooms of style and Element Hotel with 210 rooms up to a four-star standard.

Marriott International signed an agreement on March 19 to build the two international accommodation facilities as a pioneering approach in a rural area of Guangdong Province. Construction will begin in the latter half of this year.

Both hotels will be equipped for large meetings, banquets, and other occasions. They will embody the healthy, energetic, and green lifestyle advocated by Marriott International and conform to the philosophy of an eco-resort. 

Signing ceremony

Delta's upscale, full-service brand offers a lean and flexible operating model to meet the needs of business travelers.

Meanwhile, Element's concept consists of multiple rooms centered around a common living room that allows guests to congregate, interact, work, or dine.

Lingnan Earth covers more than 17,000 mu (2,801 acres) of mountains, water, and land with Shilong Village of Lianzhou Town at its core. Dongwan and Xialan villages are also within the project scope.

The complex has a symbolic presence in high-end leisure agriculture combining cultural and technological experiences, and also has a focus on public green ecology education. Enhanced with new up-scale accommodations, it will augment sightseeing, vacationing, and health conditioning activities.

The cost of developing the eco-resort is 2.7 billion yuan ($402 million) -- 1 billion yuan ($149 million) of which will go into first-phase construction. That will consist of Huatian Xidi (Flower & Filed Joyful Land) (花田喜地), a 60-mu (9.9-acre) area of halls themed ecology, science, and technology; 24 solar terms; and wetland conservation.

It will also encompass a 700-m (766-yd) riverside Lingnan Water Street (岭南水街) with shops, bars, dining spots, and inns, and a TCM Health Culture Park (中药养生文化园) with fresh Chinese herbs from nearby plantations.

Visitors can look forward to a holidaymaking mixture of relaxation and fun when the park opens in October, according to a project head.

Zhuhai Lingnan Cultural Investment initiated the concept of the additions to the national pilot project.