Temple Hotel, Beijing, China

The history of The Temple Hotel spans 600 years: it includes ancient halls of worship, the former living quarters of prominent Buddhist figures, civilian buildings constructed after the founding of the People’s Republic of China and slogans rallying the Chinese people during the Cultural Revolution. The hotel endeavoured to preserve all the layers of history, keeping as much as we could of the original structures. The Main Hall of Zhizhusi (“Temple of Wisdom”) is a government protected heritage. The partners behind The Temple Hotel project restored it to its original grandeur and opened it as a place of refuge for travellers to this ancient capital. Apart from Zhizhusi, the mixture of Qing dynasty and contemporary houses built in the 1960s has been turned into stylish event spaces and conference rooms.