Good Fortune In Nantong
Good Fortune in Nantong
The city of Nantong in Jiangsu Province wouldn’t normally be a Shanghai expat’s first thought when it comes to a weekend getaway, however, with the opening of the new lifestyle hotel, Himalayas Nantong, this is all about to change.
Nantong, a fast-growing river port city at the mouth of the Yangtze River, is a one-and-a-half hour drive away from Shanghai, but a world away from the bustling metropolis. It is a peaceful, tranquil and spiritual city where the sounds of ear-piercing yelling on the streets would be out of place and you can forget about the constant honking of horns.
Turn your trip to Nantong into a spiritual retreat by visiting Langshan, which means "wolf mountain"
– although we were promised that no wolves actually live there – and Guangjiao Temple. Founded in the
Tang Dynasty, Guangjiao Temple, which also includes Zhiyun Pagoda dating back to the Song dynasty, is situated at the top of the peak. Zhiyun Pagoda is one of three famous pagodas and was built to commemorate Bodhisattva Mahatma. The Guangjiao temple itself,
still houses practicing monks along with many cultural treasures and historical relics, which have been protected in the temple and the pagoda for centuries.
Conveniently, Langshan was also only a five-minute drive from our hotel, Himalayas Nantong. To enter the site, there is a fee of RMB 70, but this includes a return cable car journey up and down Langshan and entrance to the holy site. Although the mountain, or technically a hill as Langshan barely scrapes the 100-meter mark, is possible to climb, we suggest taking the cable cars as it is easy to get lost on the many winding footpaths that lead up the slope.
Langshan is in the centre of four other hills and is the must-see site in Nantong. At the top of the mountain, after exiting the old-school cable cars, which include carriages that are completely open to the elements, you are rewarded with a spectacular view of the city and river below. Be sure to buy some incense on your short walk up the concrete stairs to the temple so that you can burn it for good luck. Amongst local Nantong people, Guangjiao Temple is synonymous with receiving good luck for business. You will often see a variety of businessmen clad in designer suits, to slightly scruffier looking salesmen, carrying stacks of incense to burn in order to pray for the success of their new business venture.
Guangjiao Temple is over one-thousand years old and is one of the best known Buddhist shrines in the country with many emperors, famous Buddhists, poets, politicians and writers visiting in the past, and it is well worth a visit even to this day.
Himalayas Nantong Hotel
This new lifestyle hotel fuses a contemporary vision with traditional Chinese culture and is located between Nantong’s main city centre, the new CBD and the famous tourist site of Langshan. The hotel has the feel of an urban resort and was designed by Hopping, Kovach, Grinnel (HKG) from Canada, the same group who designed the Shanghai Pudong International Airport interior. The team drew inspiration from Nantong's most famous son, Mr Zhang Jian, who lived from 1853 to 1926.
Mr Zhang Jian built 370 schools, including the first embroidery school and first school for educators, in China. In homage to this prosperous period in Nantong’s history, the hotel’s design reflects old Nantong city, when it was one of the most developed city in China. The hotel includes the once famous buildings of Nantong Business School, the Christian Church building, Er Wu Photo Shop and the San You Book Shop, which have all been converted into guest rooms or event spaces. The complex even includes a replica of the old city gate and statues of long- forgotten residents and rickshaw pullers.
Himalayas Nantong Hotel features 80 smartly furnished, paperless guestrooms, including 16 suites. Every room showcases high-tech luxury amenities, including HD flat screen TVs, iPod docks and cordless phones. Complimentary WiFi is offered throughout the hotel. It is also the first lifestyle hotel to offer Memory Beds and Memory Pillows to all guests.
Finally, no visit to Himalayas Nantong Hotel is complete without lunch or dinner at Jiu Jian Tang, the hotel’s signature restaurant and events venue serving local Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisines. The restaurant caters to all occasions with elegant indoor and outdoor dining venues, plus unique themed, contemporary Chinese, private VIP rooms equipped with modern audio-visual facilities. Although the hotel is newly opened, the restaurant is already making its mark within the local community due to its delicious and innovative dishes.
