Marriott International's first countryside hotel in China came under construction May 17, marking another breakthrough for the Lingnan Wonderland Eco-Resort National Rural Complex pilot project in Doumen District.

The Delta Hotels by Marriott will have 300 guestrooms and conference, banquet, and catering facilities built to five-star standards. The facility will highlight a fusion of Lingnan (Cantonese) architectural style and occidental concepts that suggest rivers, paddy fields, and mountains.

The project cost 300 million yuan ($42 million) and covers 50 mu (3 hectares, 8 acres) with floorage of 33,000 sq m (8.2 acres). It reflects Marriott's participation in Zhuhai's rural tourism market against the backdrop of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. When it comes into operation by the end of 2021 it will mark the birth of international countryside resorts in Guangdong Province, according to Chen Ruidong, president of Zhuhai Lingnan Cultural Investment.

Artist's illustration of Lingnan Wonderland Eco-Resort [Photo courtesy Guanhai App]

The 11.77-sq-km (4.54 sq-mile) Lingnan Wonderland Eco-Resort is sited at the state-level agricultural sci-tech Doumen Eco-Agriculture Park across Shilong, Dongwan, and Xialan villages. The health-oriented eco-tourism resort focuses on farming culture and experience and popular science based on local natural resources and Lingnan culture.

Construction will be conducted over three phases with a total investment of 2.7 billion yuan ($380 million). In addition to the hotel, the first phase includes a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Park, Huatian Xidi, and an Amorous Waterfront Street.

The TCM Park is a themed travel destination that integrates plantations, R&D, processing, sightseeing, entertainment, popular science, accommodations, and holiday-going. The initial zone from Guishan Mt to Shunliu River will open in October with a TCM plantation demonstration and observation zone, popular science exhibition, cultural and recreational experience and healthcare halls, riverside B&Bs, and herbal cuisine restaurants.

Huatian Xidi will have zones for flowers, farming science, aquatic entertainment, a labyrinth, wetland, and ecological get-away.

Lingnan-styled Amorous Waterfront Street is conceived as a prosperous ancient commercial block of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that offers one-stop shopping, leisure, catering, and entertainment with a Cantonese culinary delicacy domain, folk craft workshops, bars, customs experiences, B&Bs, and stores. Construction of Huatian Xidi and Amorous Waterfront Street will be completed by 2021.