Peace Hotel

What: Sun and Moon Massage

Why: Massage away winter ailments

How Much: RMB 1,060 (for 90 minutes) + 15 per cent

Where: 20 Nanjing Dong Lu, near Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu. Tel: 6321 6888. Web: www.fairmont.com/peacehotel

The Peace Hotel’s Willow Stream Spa opened in December, months after the historic landmark opened to the public, but it was definitely worth the wait. With an exceptionally long list of localised treatments, the Willow Stream Spa has been inspired by its surroundings – and not just the hallowed halls of the famous building, but the culture around it. From a Sichuan pepper scrub to facials and massages meant to cleanse your body of the city’s pervasive pollution, the Willow Stream Spa offers Traditional Chinese Medicine in luxurious surroundings.  

The Sun and Moon treatment offers 90 minutes of balancing massage intended to holistically realign the body’s yinand yang. Sun and Moon brings the “bad energy” to the skin’s surface and expels it from the body to create an equilibrium after you undergo a drastic change (from seasonal temperature drops to emotional break-ups).To start, the therapist works through a full-body massage using traditional Chinese tui na techniques, an acupressure method for calming energy flows and freeing trapped “coldness” within the body’s muscles and tissues. Paired withgua sha, Chinese scraping that stimulates the skin with specially-mined stones, the entire experience sounds like it could be slightly painful, but the exceptionally-trained therapists manage to unobtrusively hit pressure points, bringing you to the brink of sleep. The next day, you may feel a twinge of soreness, but the aura of relaxation extends well beyond the treatment and you’ll be impressed with the changes in your body that you can actually feel.

While the massage is a restorative treatment in and of itself, spending a few hours at the Willow Stream Spa alone will do wonders for the body. The pampering starts from the moment you enter the spa, from the exceedingly comfortable pyjama sets to the plush chairs in waiting rooms and treatment suites. The entire experience is, for lack of a better word, peaceful – and we’re sure that’s exactly what The Peace Hotel had in mind.