Landscape design studio Z’scape has created a winding wooden path that leads to a centuries-old oak tree.
It is located in the middle of an alpine park in China’s Yulong Province, to celebrate the local flora and indigenous culture of the area.
The Hylla Alpine Garden project forms part of the Lijiang Hylla Vintage Hotel complex at the foothills of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang, Yunnan Province.
Design Features
The garden was designed by Beijing-based studio Z’scape,
and was shortlisted in the Landscape category for the 2021 Dezeen Awards.
Carefully incorporated into the existing landscape,
the hotel project features buildings constructed using reclaimed and local materials to ensure that the past is connected to the present.
The landscapers also take a similar approach,
using local stonemasons and carpenters to create a contemporary design that feels connected to the site’s history.
Local plants, stones, textures and water features reminiscent of wells in nearby villages create an environment that invites visitors to explore the local culture.
The design efforts are site-based, establishing a clear affinity with indigenous Naxi culture and Alpine nature in creating a place of comfort, seclusion and peace.
Park Location
The park is located near UNESCO World Heritage sites including Yuhu Village and the historic city of Baisha, both overlooking from the elevated site.
The village of Naxi, abandoned for several decades,
has been renovated to form the basis of the hotel and the garden, which covers an area of about four hectares.
At the heart of the garden is a large oak tree, which was to become a sacred feature of the original village.
The Naxi people called trees like these Xupai, who they believed would help protect their lands.
Visitors also enter the site along a path surrounded by a white stone wall,
before proceeding to a wooden walkway that winds through the grass towards the oak tree.
The Alpine Garden is used as a gathering space for events and offers the best views towards Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Baisha City.
While all the stone and timber elements included in the project were manufactured by local workers using traditional techniques handed down through generations.
This helps them retain a sense of Naxi identity and the cultural uniqueness of the region.
Some of the walls also include water features designed as abstract interpretations of the historical
“three wells” irrigation system developed by the Naxi people.
This system directs melted snow from the mountains into an upper well for drinking water,
a middle well for cleaning fruits and vegetables, and a lower well for washing clothes.
The outflow is then used to irrigate the surrounding farmland.
The irrigation system reported two water features characterized by long channels fixed in the stone walls,
and the water flowed along the channels and poured into the stepped ponds that represented the three wells.
Design Aims
The overall approach to landscape design aims for minimal intervention and was created
without the use of heavy machinery to protect the existing ecosystem.
It is a large preserved forest in the north and west of the park containing oak, sumac,
paulownia and Yunnan pine trees.
Indigenous plants such as rhododendron,
iris and euphorbia have also been introduced to enhance the unique alpine environment.
Z’scape
Founded by Zhou Liangjun and Zhou Ting, Z’scape creates landscapes for clients involved in sectors such as cultural tourism projects,
boutique hotels, urban spaces and residential developments.
Other projects shortlisted for the Landscape category in the 2021 Dezeen Awards also include renovated industrial buildings
from WAA that are used as a children’s community center and theater.
Plus the Qidi Design Group landscaping project with curved paths and bridges.
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