After the spring costumes are completed, five or six people wear crowns, while six or seven children bathe in the Yi River, dancing in the breeze and returning with songs.
——Tao Yuanming, courtesy name Liang, was born in Chaisang, Xunyang (now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province).
Over a thousand years ago, Tao Yuanming set sail on a boat across the lake, expressing his deep affection for the landscape and portraying an ideal paradise. Nearly 1500 years later, as fast-paced urban life has almost erased memories of hometowns, the tranquil life beyond Taoyuan remains a cherished ideal in the hearts of many Chinese people. Today, this vision lives on in a small town in Tao Yuanming’s homeland — Blue City · Yunlin Spring Breeze.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Site Selection | A Lake and Mountains in China’s “Geneva Lake Town”
Since ancient times, living by the lake has been a lifelong pursuit for high-ranking officials, nobles, scholars, and literati. American writer Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “A lake is a tear of God, an eye of the earth.” Similarly, the saying from “The Chronicles of Things” — “Those who live between mountains and waters come first, those in villages second, and those in suburbs last” — reflects mankind’s enduring love for life amidst nature.
From Walden Pond to Lake Como, Lake Boden to Lake Cumberland, only a few top-tier lake regions remain, and lake towns that blend ecological and residential values, like Blue City Yunlin Spring Breeze, are truly captivating.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Lushan West Sea in Jiangxi Province, designated as part of the sixth batch of national scenic spots by the State Council, is a sprawling mountainous lake area. It features national 4A tourist resorts, Buddhist model forests, national forest parks, and more. The vast Yunshan Lake is surrounded by rolling hills and lush forests, dotted with 1,667 islands of various sizes—surpassing even Hangzhou’s Qiandao Lake in island count.
The blue clouds reflect on the water’s surface, creating a clear, dreamlike realm. Boating here feels as graceful as the harmony between sky and earth. No fishing song can fully capture the treasures of this place. The mountain breeze is fresh, and each breath rejuvenates the body and soul. Tranquil and leisurely like West Sea, here, one envies only the farmers, not the immortals.
Return | Rediscovering Poetic and Artistic Charm
Set amidst the breathtaking scenery of Mount Lu’s West Sea, Blue City Yunlin Spring Breeze is built against the mountains and beside the lake, just as Tao Yuanming described. It is planned to become a cultural tourism town integrating hot spring wellness, conferences, agricultural science tourism, and leisure vacations. As Blue City’s first lake town, it serves as a comprehensive resort for urban dwellers.
The design respects the original ecology and follows the natural terrain, dividing the area into four main sections: precise health preservation, home-based elderly care, leisure elderly care, and combined living with health preservation.
The transparent layout and open landscape pattern incorporate classical garden scales, linked by a core landscape belt that forms a park network of points, lines, and planes. This project is another heartfelt tribute to nature, aiming not to create symbolic Chinese architecture, but a poetic and picturesque atmosphere that resonates deeply.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Reshaping | Encountering Beauty and Wandering Ten Miles in the Spring Breeze
Traditional streets and alleys, often winding and extended, hold cherished memories due to the subtle changes in their intimate atmospheres. Blue City · Yunlin Spring Breeze seeks to reinterpret the beauty of neighborhood life through the traditional concept of “streets and alleys.”
After extensive research on traditional street scales, the design integrates the Chinese essence of “courtyard-style layouts” into the overall plan, making the clusters within the park feel as if they have grown naturally. As visitors wander from streets and alleys into private courtyards, they are greeted by rockeries, greenery, flowing water, birdsong, changing vistas, and shifting scenery. Every return home feels like entering a miniature peach blossom garden, perfectly shaded and serene.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Reclaiming | Chinese-Style Living Cannot Exist Without a Home
One courtyard, one door (BIM), one window, one flower, one tree, one pebble. Blue City · Yunlin Spring Breeze draws inspiration from traditional Chinese gardens, embedding the philosophy that “there is no home without a courtyard” into its core design.
Features such as soft pink walls, elegant black tiles, and varied roof ridges are concealed within private courtyards. Painted bridges, pavilions, ponds, corridors, and blooming flowers create a world in miniature. From any viewpoint, the spatial volume integrates modern living with a transparent door and window design, capturing the moods of the four seasons through plants, flower windows, ornaments, and paving.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Reconstruction | Contemporary Expression Blending Ancient and Modern Traditions
When traditional architectural forms no longer satisfy modern needs, Blue City · Yunlin Spring Breeze takes traditional gardens as its foundation and merges them with contemporary living environments, striving to express traditional culture in a modern way.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
The traditional elaborate carved beams and painted rafters have been deconstructed and replaced with simple, elegant modern decorative elements. Within the walls and tiles, Chinese traditional motifs are skillfully combined with contemporary precision materials.
For example, fragile traditional wooden structures have been replaced by more durable modern craftsmanship. Traditional wooden double rafters with overhanging eaves are now concrete single rafters with overhangs. The design also addresses the common issue of insufficient lighting in traditional Chinese architecture by introducing enhanced door and window designs at Yunlin Spring Breeze (BIM work).
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Moreover, the originally intricate beauty cards (Wu Wang cards) have been further streamlined in the design. This ensures the preservation of traditional charm while keeping construction costs reasonable. Innovative details create a unique atmosphere in the Blue City Yunlin Spring Breeze, expressing the Chinese dream of living with a lighter touch.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Ideal | A Heart Like Clouds and Water, a Peach Blossom Spring Everywhere
If Chinese-style courtyards embody people’s aspirations for traditional residential beauty, then the “contemporary expression of traditional culture” explored by modern architects is a sincere response to these desires.
Blue City · Yunlin Spring Breeze is a pioneering cultural and tourism town, reflecting a persistent passion for life and design. It vividly conveys the Chinese sentiment long hidden in people’s hearts, and more importantly, merges traditional cultural imagery with contemporary life.
Imagine neighbors inviting each other to sit and chat; children playing together in harmony, showing humility and kindness. The design invites neighbors to enjoy flowers and scenery collectively, creating a living environment more intimate than family and friends.
Photo by Ren Xiaoyuan
Project Drawings:
Floor plan
Floor plan
Floor plan
Floor plan
Floor plan
Floor plan
Floor plan
Sectional view
Sectional view
Sectional view
Elevation drawing
Elevation drawing
Elevation drawing
Elevation drawing
Elevation drawing
Elevation drawing
Project Information:
Architect: Zhejiang Qingmo Architectural Design
Location: Lushan Xihai Scenic Area, Yongxiu County, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, China
Category: Hotel
Lead Architects: Yu Gang, Bao Peipei
Design Team: Xu Xiaobin, Zhao Yi, Lu Lu, Shu Chen, Lin Jin, Zhu Junchen, Zuo Yinghui, Zheng Meihua, Guo Limei
Building Area: 50,656.0 square meters
Project Year: 2018
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