The House

There are only five rooms, all family rooms facing the bamboo. Four are upstairs with the better view; the one on the ground floor avoids stairs and suits older guests or small children.

The house sits between the hills and the water, ringed by bamboo, its back to the slope, springs on either side, the Shenxi stream and the ridge straight ahead. Step outside and you are among bamboo, springs and running water — good for walking, climbing, or sitting by the stream all afternoon.

Southern Zhejiang is damp and has four distinct seasons, and the house is built for that: ventilation, dryness, daylight, good insulation, simple and practical rather than styled after somewhere else.

Four seasons

Spring: bamboo shoots push up outside the window, and the hills are covered with azaleas and wild flowers.

Summer: dragonflies, cicadas, fireflies, small fish and shrimp in the stream — children love it.

Autumn: the old osmanthus trees in the courtyard flower; you can watch the moon, enjoy the scent, and pick clean blossoms for tea or cake.

Winter: on clear nights there is no light pollution or haze, the Milky Way is sharp, and the stars set behind the ridge like the moon.

Food

Free-range chicken from our bamboo grove, vegetables grown high on the slope, seasonal bamboo shoots, tea from the spring water. The dried shoots and tea are made the way they were centuries ago — salt and nothing else — and guests eat what we eat. Please order meals a day ahead.

At the door

You can drive right up to the house; trees surround it, so it is quiet and out of the way. Rafting, stream fishing, stream walking and stargazing all start from the gate.