The hotel is nestled in Diaoyuan Ancient Village, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province. It is a settlement inhabited by the kinsfolk of Ouyang Xiu, a place embodying the profound heritage of Luling culture. Meticulously renovated by HZS, the hotel was originally composed of 12 scattered dwellings, among which 7 were traditional brick-and-wood old houses and the other 5 were brick-concrete buildings privately constructed by villagers in later years. How to achieve the symbiosis of tradition and modernity within this existing layout became the core challenge for the design team.   

Preservation as the Foundation, the Premise for All Regeneration

The project has always adhered to the renovation philosophy of "Preservation as the Foundation, Innovation as the Transformation". It fully inherits the original spatial texture and architectural genes of the village: blue bricks and gray tiles, horse-head walls, courtyard layouts, patio drainage systems... All these typical elements of Jiangxi-style architecture have been preserved to the greatest extent possible after careful sorting and consolidation.

For the villagers' self-built houses, the design team selected the one with the strongest visual dominance for a bold yet prudent renovation: part of the first-floor floor slabs were removed to create an open and transparent facade view, while the original appearance of the second floor was preserved. Drawing inspiration from traditional perforated window walls, the team adopted design languages of stretching, cutting, and flowing to shape a spatial experience with rich layers.

Cultural Axis, Connecting Past and Present

The entire layout of Diaoyuan Village follows the principles of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) configuration, embodying the traditional concepts of gathering qi and sheltering from winds, with mountains and waters embracing the settlement. As the spiritual core of the village, the General Ancestral Hall of the Ouyang Clan, together with eight other ancestral halls, forms the spiritual landscape of the clan. Between this General Ancestral Hall and the site of Zen X Hotel, the design team discovered a hidden central axis: it starts from the General Ancestral Hall, passes through the "Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon" geomantic pond and traditional dwellings, goes through the large simple tree in the hotel's central courtyard, and extends all the way to the camphor forest in the north and the distant mountains beyond.

The hotel is precisely the contemporary continuation and iterative renewal of this cultural axis. It not only respects the original village layout and geomantic concepts but also reactivates the spiritual connection of this land in a modest yet modern way.

Fire Tower as Seal, Culture Reinterpreted

At the hotel-end starting point of the axis, the design takes inspiration from the traditional fire tower and reinterprets it in a contemporary way. The tower structure is welded from custom-made steel plates, its form echoing the hotel’s theme of Seeking Pomelo, and the structure is lightweight yet robust. The layout of firebricks is carefully engineered: it not only serves as a casual space for gathering around a stove to brew tea on regular days, but also revives the traditional folk ritual of fire tower blazing during festivals.

This design not only enhances the sense of ritual along the axis but also becomes a functional symbol that aggregates community memories and revitalizes folk culture, elegantly connecting the hotel’s modern experience with the village’s historical context.

Borrowing Scenery from Nature, Coexisting with Ancient Trees

What is even more remarkable is that the hotel site is home to a rare natural landscape within the village: a central courtyard embraced by ancient trees, and a tranquil grove woven together by six camphor trees. "Cultural Inheritance, Ancient Trees Reborn" has become the theme guiding the spatial layout. The ancient trees are not only the visual centerpiece but also a vital symbol that carries forward collective memories and fosters emotional connection.

omelo Fragrance, Light as Brush, Shadow as Ink

The interior design inherits the understated sophistication of the architecture, with a streak of warm light serving as the visual axis to outline a bright and clean focal point against the gray-toned backdrop. After spatial reorganization, drawing inspiration from "Jinggang Honey Pomelo", a local specialty, the design abstracts its form and color into design elements, integrating them into curved lines and soft compositions to create a lightweight, soothing atmosphere.

Following the philosophy of plant-inspired healing, Zen X Hotel seeks to reawaken the profound bond between humans and nature. Here, you are not merely checking into a hotel, but embarking on a journey of time and dialogue — a dialogue with history, with trees, and with the peace nestled within your heart.

Zen X Hotel · Ji'an Diaoyuan: A Journey of Reconciliation Between Architecture and Nature, Tradition and Contemporary Times Awaits Your Arrival