Coming to Leshan, Don't Miss the Hongzhushan Hotel and Experience a Different Landscape

## **Leshan Hongzhushan Hotel Stay Experience: A State Guest-Level Zen Retreat Hidden in the Mountains** ### **I. Arrival: The Diplomatic Ambiance That Transcends Time** As our car drove into the shaded path at the foot of Mount Emei, the air suddenly turned cool. Amid cicada songs and bird calls, a Chinese architectural complex gradually emerged from ancient trees—this is the **Leshan Hongzhushan Hotel**, a state guesthouse with over 80 years of history. Entering the lobby, the high wooden dome ceiling, classic palace lanterns, and massive landscape paintings silently convey the hotel's profound heritage. Front desk staff in elegant uniforms offered warm towels and Mount Emei Snow Bud tea with a smile, the soothing tea aroma instantly calming travel fatigue. During check-in, I learned that the hotel was originally built in 1935 as the "Mount Emei Military Officer Training Corps" site under Chiang Kai-shek's direction, later becoming a state guesthouse for receiving dignitaries and celebrities—making the sense of history even more palpable. ### **II. Guest Room: Buddha Views Through Windows, Pine Whispers in Bed** I stayed in the **Building 7 Lakeside Suite**, a villa-style design offering excellent privacy. Opening the carved wooden door revealed a spacious, bright living room with natural wood tones. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the emerald **Hongzhu Lake**, reflecting Mount Emei's peaks, with occasional water birds creating ripples—like a dynamic ink painting. The bedroom faces the direction of Mount Emei's Samantabhadra Golden Summit. On clear days, you can see the golden peak appearing and disappearing among clouds. The bedding uses high-thread-count cotton, soft against the skin, with an incense burner at the bedside that releases gentle sandalwood fragrance to aid sleep. The bathroom features natural stone, with a window-side bathtub offering views of swaying bamboo groves outside—truly embodying "unity of man and nature." The most delightful surprise was the room's **"Mountain Sound System"**—at night, you can play natural white noise recorded from different elevations of Mount Emei, such as morning bells from Wannian Temple, streams from Qingyin Pavilion, and pine whispers from Leidong Plateau—experiencing the mountain through sound before physically climbing it. ### **III. Dining: Sichuan Culinary Excellence** The hotel's **"Xiangji Kitchen" Chinese Restaurant** specializes in Sichuan cuisine. The chef has served many international dignitaries, and the signature **"Mount Emei Treasures Feast"** features seasonal mountain ingredients like bamboo shoots, snow konjac, and rock ear mushrooms with secret sauces—extraordinarily delicious. Especially recommended is the **"Hongzhushan Spring Water Tofu Pudding"**, made with Mount Emei spring water, with a silky texture and served with spicy dipping sauce—truly exceptional. Breakfast is served at the **"Lakeside Restaurant"**, offering regular buffet items plus Leshan specialty snack stations including **beef ka pancakes**, **tofu brain**, and **ye'er ba** (leaf-wrapped rice cakes). Sitting by the window with lake and mountain views complementing the meal is thoroughly enjoyable. ### **IV. Garden Stroll: Capturing All of Mount Emei's Beauty in One Garden** The Hongzhushan Hotel spans 440,000 square meters, essentially a vast forest park. Morning walks along the **"Zen Path"** pass towering ancient trees and moss-covered steps, leading to historic buildings like **"Chiang Kai-shek's Former Residence"** and the **"State Guest Hall"**, feeling like stepping into Republican-era history. Reaching **Hongzhu Lake**, black swans glide across the water, and lakeside open-air tea houses offer Mount Emei Zhuyeqing tea while watching clouds gather and disperse as time slows down. For those with energy to spare, a pathway leads directly to **Baoguo Temple**, where you can experience the tranquility of "mountain paths without rain, yet verdant greenery moistens one's clothes." ### **V. Hot Springs: Healing Moments in the Wilderness** The hotel's **"Hongzhushan Forest Hot Springs"** was this trip's biggest surprise. Over 20 soaking pools are scattered throughout the primeval forest, with spring water sourced from Mount Emei's geothermal springs, rich in sulfur, calcium, and other minerals. As night falls, stepping into the misty pools while gazing up at stars between tree silhouettes, with occasional mountain breezes rustling leaves and insects chirping, brings complete relaxation to body and mind. ### **VI. Service: The Ultimate Interpretation of Eastern Hospitality** From check-in to checkout, service remained meticulously attentive. Evening turndown service not only prepared the bedding but also placed calming sachets and handwritten weather forecasts at the bedside; room attendants replaced fresh mountain flowers daily; and the concierge can arrange private guides to explore lesser-known historical corners of the hotel. ### **Conclusion: A Journey Through Time and Space** Three days at the Hongzhushan Hotel felt like a journey through "city—forest—history." This place offers neither dazzling technology nor deliberately piled-on luxury, but rather the composure of time's sedimentation and wisdom of coexistence with nature. If you're tired of cookie-cutter business hotels and yearn for a pure land "dwelling among people yet without the noise of carriages and horses" at the foot of Mount Emei, the Hongzhushan Hotel is your answer.