In Leshan, Don't Miss Hengbang Hanten Resort Hotel in Gaoqiaoli, Mount Emei

## Hidden Retreat at the Peak: My Experience at Hengbang Hanten Resort Hotel in Mount Emei's Gaoqiaoli As our car wound its way up the serpentine mountain road, lush forests flowed past the window in a sea of green. When the characters "Gaoqiaoli" came into view, I knew that this Hanten Resort Hotel hidden in the foothills of Mount Emei was about to offer me an escape from worldly clamor. Passing through the entrance with its distinctive Western Sichuan architectural style, I was immediately struck by the spacious, high-ceilinged lobby. The clever combination of natural wood and stone preserved their original textures while showcasing a restrained modern aesthetic. Most stunning was the enormous floor-to-ceiling window view—distant mountains shrouded in mist and clouds, like a dynamic ink scroll painting. During check-in, instead of the standard room key card, the staff offered me a steaming cup of local wild tea, its subtle fragrance instantly soothing my travel fatigue. My mountain-view suite perfectly embodied the concept of "living with nature." A tatami-style tea area faced an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, capturing Mount Emei's seasonal changes. In the morning, the first rays of sunlight pierce through the sea of clouds onto the window frames; in the afternoon, mountain mist drifts like gossamer across the treetops; by evening, you can admire the golden twilight reminiscent of "Emei's Evening Bell." The bathroom is a work of art—a soaking tub crafted from natural stone resembles a natural hot spring formed in the mountains, where you can gaze at dancing bamboo shadows while bathing. Thoughtful details abound: organic cotton-linen bedding, a mini-bar stocked with Emei Snow Buds tea and handmade snacks, and even a sutra copying book with a brush pen placed thoughtfully by the bedside. The hotel masterfully embodies the philosophy of "hidden from the world but not avoiding it." The infinity pool maintains a constant temperature and creates a remarkable visual continuity with the distant mountains, making swimmers feel as if they're gliding between heaven and earth. After a rainfall one morning, I followed the hotel butler along a private path to explore the primeval forest. Green moss on stone steps, crystalline dewdrops on leaves—squirrels and red-billed blue magpies encountered along the way were unexpected gifts on this journey through a secret realm. In the afternoon, I experienced Song Dynasty tea whisking in the tea room, where the master demonstrated flowing techniques while recounting Mount Emei's thousand-year tea history. As the tea whisk created a dense, creamy froth, time seemed to stand still. The dining experience shattered my stereotypes about resort hotels. The "Cloud Cuisine" restaurant embraces the concept of seasonal eating—spring dishes like chilled walnut flower salad and bamboo shoot stewed free-range chicken feature ingredients mostly sourced from the hotel's own ecological farm. Most memorable was the "snow konjac roast duck," where the konjac absorbed the rich broth while maintaining its wild essence. The "Halfway" bar showed even more creativity, incorporating Sichuan opera facial mask elements into cocktail designs. When the "Face-Changing" signature cocktail arrived with billowing dry ice resembling Mount Emei's sea of clouds, I could taste the numbing Sichuan peppercorn and refreshing citrus notes dancing on my tongue. After nightfall, the hotel revealed another kind of magic. Lanterns gradually illuminated the elegant curves of the flying eaves. Walking along stone pathways, I could hear the duet of babbling brooks and summer insects. The starlight cinema was screening "The Flying Bandits of Emei," the vintage film's grainy texture harmonizing wonderfully with the natural symphony around us. Back in my room, I discovered that the turndown service had not only prepared the bed but also placed a calming cypress sachet on the pillow and herbal bath packets by the tub—this understated attentiveness is precisely the most precious quality of high-end resorts. On my departure day, a fine mist shrouded everything, the mountain scenery even more poignant through the haze. Standing on the terrace for one last look at this landscape, I suddenly understood the brilliance of the Hanten Hotel: it's not merely a place to stay but a sanctuary for rediscovering oneself. Here, modern comforts and primal mountain spirit achieve a delicate balance, allowing guests to enjoy luxury while maintaining reverence for nature. As the hotel handbook states, "Let time pass with value"—this stay has become a luminous memory in my mind—perhaps true luxury is precisely this ability to reconnect with life's essence. On the return journey, I unexpectedly received a collection of photos from the hotel documenting my stay. All those beautiful, unguarded moments had been carefully recorded. The cover image captured my profile as I concentrated on calligraphy in the tea room, with blurred distant mountains contrasting with the sharp ink strokes in the foreground. This unexpected gift made me smile knowingly: the best hotels never simply provide services—they understand how to give form to memories.