Cool and friendly

Italian luxury brand Bulgari offers an emotional experience in China's capital, Chen Jie reports.

In the early 1980s, when young Italian backpacker Jean-Christophe Babin and his girlfriend toured Shanghai, they stayed at the YMCA near the Waibaidu Bridge. But they were separated into dormitories exclusively for men and women.

Now, Babin, the CEO of Bulgari, is sitting at the bar of the Bulgari Hotel Beijing, looking over the garden outside the floor-to-ceiling windows along the Liangma River and talking about the "funny thing" regarding his first travel experience in China more than 30 years ago.

"China has undergone dramatic changes in many ways. Hospitality is just one of them," he said.

Bulgari, the renowned Italian jewelry and watch brand, expanded its luxury business in hotels and resorts from Milan in 2004, then Bali in 2006 and London in 2012. On Sept 27, it opened its fourth hotel in Beijing.

Like its previous three properties, the Bulgari Hotel Beijing doesn't only provide an authentic Italian lifestyle through its architecture, services and the way of hospitality, but also has something unique related to the location.

Designed by architects Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, the hotel rises along the Liangma River, within sculpted gardens surrounded by pines that balance art and nature.

One unique big pine standing in front of the property has become the hotel's logo.

"Beijing is usually associated with buildings, but this place merges into greenert, with the river and well-designed landscapes," Babin said. "All these trees are over 20 years old. We spent great effort selecting and moving them from the mountains and replanting them here."