A Spanish Island Idyll

OVERNIGHTER
ByJUSTINBERGMAN
FOLLOWING in the footstepsofforeignmissionaries,
Chinese gangsters
and Chiang Kaishek,
I traveled to the
mountain outpost of Moganshan
looking for a breather from fullthrottle
Shanghai. Before I
reached my destination, however,
I had an intimidating set of
stairstoclimb.
“It’s 84 steps,” said a smiling
Tiger, the manager of House 2,
the restored, early 20th-century
villa where I’d be staying, as we
peered up at the rickety stone
staircase shaded by drooping
branches of bamboo. Arriving at
the top short of breath, I realized
to my dismay it was another 37
steps to my room on the third
floor.
Though the climb was a challenge,
the journey to Moganshan
from Shanghai was a relatively
easy one: a three-hour trip by
train and car. That proximity,
along with new lodging options
that have reinvigorated the area,
has begun to attract foreigners in
recent years, more than a centuryafteritsoriginalheyday.
The main draw, however, is
what awaits at the top of those
stairs: dense forests of bamboo
and pine crisscrossed by hiking
and biking trails, a lovely, tranquil
respite from the crowded
streets of Shanghai. Indeed, outside
of those new accommodations,
Moganshan has changed
littlesinceitservedastheHamptonsofthispartofeasternChina.
Moganshan was first settled in
the late 1800s by missionaries
and their families desperate to
escape the heat and disease of
swampy Shanghai summers. By
the early 20th century, it had become
a haven for that city’s foreign
elite, who built sprawling
stone mansions and whiled away
their days playing on lawn tennis
courts or lolling in the many
swimming pools that dotted the
mountainside.
Itwasn’tlongbeforealessreputable
sort turned up, including
Du Yuesheng, also known as Big-
EaredDu,andZhangXiaolin,two
gangsters who ran Shanghai’s
opium trade. Zhang kept pet tigers
behind his villa and is rumored
to have fed a mistress to
oneofthem.
Moganshanalsoattractedpowerful
couples of a different stripe.
Thedrugdealerssummerednext
to Huang Fu, a Kuomintang foreign
minister, who hosted the
Chinese Nationalist leader
Chiang Kai-shek and his wife,
Soong Mei-ling, on their honeymoonin1927.
The fun didn’t last for long.
Though Moganshan was spared
destruction during Japan’s invasioninthelate1930s,theCommunists
soon took control and appropriatedthemountain’s
stately
stone villas for themselves. (Mao
Zedong was reportedly another
visitor.) It has taken decades for
thespottoreturntoitsplaceasa
popularsummerretreat.
Mark Kitto, a British author
and the former publisher of a
magazine in Shanghai (where I
once worked), was the first foreignertomovebacktothemountain
in the mid-2000s. Mr. Kitto
served as my guide in Moganshan,
and as we zipped along the
area’s curving roads on his
motorcycle,hisdogCharlieinthe
sidecar, he commented on the
history of the homes, some of
which have been renovated by
developersandturnedintoguesthouses.
At Huang’s villa, which is now
a museum, Mr. Kitto pointed out
a tree planted by Madame
Chiang. “She taught Chiang Kaishek
to dance underneath it,” he
said.Inside,thehoneymoonsuite
still has a wedding photo of the
couple on a side table. Down the
hall is another preserved bedroom,withblackandgoldShanghai
Deco-style beds, where Zhou
Enlai, the future first premier of
Communist China, spent time
during his secret meetings with
Chiang to discuss a possible united
front against the Japanese in-
Round-tripticketsonthe
high-speedtrainbetween
ShanghaiandHangzhoustart
at154renminbi($24at6.45
renminbitothedollar).JoannaKittocanarrangefora
driverbetweenHangzhou
andMoganshanfor250renminbieachway.NakedStablesalsohasaweekendshuttleservicebetweenShanghaiandMoganshanfor230renminbieachway.Thereisan
80renminbientrancefeeto
themountain.
LePassageMohkanShan
(86-1865-728-5900;
lepassagemoganshan.com).
Doublesfrom1,500renminbi
aperson,pernight,including
IfYouGo
vasion.
The tennis court at Zhang’s old
villaisnowovergrownandthetigercageislonggone,butanelaborate
Chinese temple that he
built remains, with red-painted
lattice windows and nature
scenes and flowers carved in the
woodbeneaththeeaves.
Both villas are on the itinerary
of guided tours of the mountain
providedbyMr.Kitto,whochronicles
Moganshan’s history in his
book “China Cuckoo” (“Chasing
China” in the United States). His
wife, Joanna, originally from
Guangzhou, is also an area enthusiast,
having renovated three
other villas that she rents out —
called House 23, 25 and 2—in an
attempt to recreate the feeling of
theresort’searlydays.
Ms. Kitto said the dilapidated
mansions had walls when she
leased them from the People’s
Liberation Army, the current
owners, but little else. She rebuilt
the floors in House 2 using recycled
wood from old houses in the
area and copied the mosaic patterns
she saw in a neighbor’s
bathroom that hadn’t been
touchedsincetheearly1900s.
allmeals.
MoganshanHouse23,25
and2(86-572-803-3822;
moganshanhouse23.com).
Doublesfrom650renminbi
pernight.
MoganshanLodge(86-572-
803-3011;moganshanlodge
.com).Offersbreakfast,
lunchanddinner.
NakedStables(86-21-6431-
8901;nakedretreats.cn).
Earthhutsfrom1,725renminbipernight;tree-topvillas(withtwobedrooms)
from5,290renminbiper
night.Asisterproperty, NakedHomeVillage,hasdoublesfrom1,219renminbiper
night.
THENEWYORKTIMES,SUNDAY, APRIL15,2012
ALoftyRetreatFromSwelteringShanghai
200 MILES
500 MILES
Moganshan
Yellow R.
CHINA
Yangtze R.
Hangzhou
ZHEJIANG
Beijing
Area of
detail
VIETNAM
Shanghai
East
China
Sea
Yellow
Sea
TAIWAN
South China
Sea
THE NEW YORK TIMES
She also runs the Moganshan
Lodge, the only spot on the
mountaintop where visitors can
unwind with wine after a day of
stair-climbingormountainbiking
through the bamboo forests. The
lodge has maps for self-guided
hikesaroundthetopofthemountain
or down the slopes into the
surrounding valley, and visitors
can also rent bikes from the Chinese-run
Songliang Hotel next
door.
Despite the efforts of the Kittos,
development on the mountain
has been slow, thanks to resistance
from the provincial government
and the army, which
owns a fifth of the old villas.
Nearby, though, fewer bureaucratic
hurdles have allowed foreign
entrepreneurs to embark on
far more ambitious projects, like
the eco-resort Naked Stables Private
Reserve, which opened last
fall several miles from the mountain
after a 200 million renminbi
(about $31.7 million) investment
from Grant Horsfield, the South
African owner, and his architect
wife,DelphineYip.
For Mr. Horsfield, it wasn’t so
much the history of the area that
attracted him, but the proximity
of such unspoiled countryside to
Shanghai. His goal was to build a
luxury property that was also
sustainable, a new concept in
China, where high-end hotels are
adimeadozenbuteco-tourismis
still in its nascent stages. If all
goesaccordingtoplan,theoperators
of Naked say it will be
among the first resorts in the
world to achieve LEED-platinum
certification.
IThasn’tbeeneasy,Mr.Horsfield
added. He and his wife,
the site’s master planner,
worked with engineers and
designers to create a resort
that incorporated green building
practices but didn’t sacrifice
style or amenities. There are 40
rondavel-style villas — essentially
westernized versions of African
huts — with environmentally
friendly rammed earth walls, as
well as design features like
thatchedroofs,rawwoodfurnishings
and cowhide rugs. Another
30 villas nestled at treetop level
were built with energy-efficient,
prefabricated panels, though
guests may be most impressed
by the personal butler service
and balcony hot tubs with panoramicviewsofthemountains.
There were some missteps,
like the pool lights that cost Mr.
Horsfield a point toward LEED
certification because of light pollution,
and smart innovations.
Each room has consumption meters
that track water, electricity
and gas usage. Guests receive a
discount if their consumption is
below the average by their stay’s
end. “We’re not just going the
first step of trying to be green by
building an earth wall,” he said.
“What we’re trying to do is show
you that you can make a differ-
ence,too.”
Mr. Horsfield isn’tthe only foreigner
enticing well-heeled
guests back to Moganshan.
Christophe Peres, a native
LEFTTheNakedStablesPrivateReserve.TOPAwoman
exploringthebambooforests
andabandonedhomesnear
Moganshan.ABOVEAworkerbuildingafireinHouse
23,asmallhotelandoneofa
handfulofrenovatedstructuresinthearea.
Frenchman, and his wife, Pauline
Lee, spent nearly five years
building the upscale 40-room hotel
Le Passage Mohkan Shan.
Theproperty,whichalsoisanorganic
tea plantation, partly
opened in December, with the
rest scheduled for completion by
October.
Mr.Peressaidthathe,too,was
inspired by the manor houses on
the mountain, which is why he
TR 9
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIEL GROSHONG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
chose century-old, recycled wood
and handmade French-style tiles
for the floors. He also built a saltwater
swimming pool with views
ofthetea-coveredhillsandplanteda12,000-bushrosegarden.The
Shanghainese chef has been well
trainedinFrenchcuisine,andthe
wine cellar is stocked with biodynamic
French wines and Mr.
Peres’shomemadepearbrandy.
It has taken some time, but
decadence is slowly returning to
Moganshan. “When Chinese
started to travel, they wanted to
go far,” Mr. Peres said. “Now you
have some people who have
money to travel far, who’ve been
to Europe — they want weekend
escapes.”
There are a few differences
fromtheolddays,however. Political
bosses may still drop in, but
they leave their exotic pets at
home. Æ