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A new holiday resort featuring traditional village life and a spa opened recently at Guanlan, a sub-district in Shenzhen's Longgang District.

With a vast lake area for fishing, more than 100 villas and a recreation and spa center, the Guanlan Mountain and Lake Garden Resort is the newest addition to the city's tourism attractions, and just in time for the coming Spring Festival.

"I have always been dreaming of reproducing the beautiful village life of my childhood and sharing it with all my friends," said Xiong Yanqing, chairman of the resort and former farmer from Wuhua County, Guangdong Province. "This resort is a meaningful career rather than a money generator to me."

The resort is one kilometer away from the Mission Hill Golf Club. To drive there, it takes about 40 minutes from downtown Shenzhen and about an hour from Guangzhou.

Like any fast developing township in South China, Guanlan Sub-district is a mixture of newly erected factories, modern buildings at various stages of completion and old residences of the villagers.

Getting lost could be easy if it weren't for the large signs and colorful banners directing the way to the resort after getting off the Meiguan Expressway at the Niuhu Toll Station and onto Guanlan's main street Huanguan Road South.

More than 60 million yuan (US$7.2 million) was invested into the resort by a private company based in Shenzhen. The resort covers more than 27 acres, including about 7 acres for a lake.

It was built according to Chinese AAAA standards, the highest level for tourist sites. All signs were in both Chinese and English.

The vast lake is now the largest fishing area in Shenzhen. Around the lake, more than 100 fishing docks and 40 small wooden houses, or villas, were built over the water.

Each villa is a two-bed suite with a bathroom and a private fishing dock. The room rates range from about 200 yuan to 300 yuan per night. Guests in the villas over the water can even enjoy boat services.

In December, the resort put more than 10,000 kilograms of freshwater fish into the lake, which is more than five meters deep in some places. At the lake's center, there are two lovely bamboo houses, home to ducks and a resting place for pigeons and other birds. Lakeside, there is a tofu stand where the fresh homemade jelly-like soy bean curd can be served upon request.

Then just a few steps away is a teahouse in a two-story villa with red lanterns hanging under its eaves. There is no better way to enjoy the brisk South China winter than by sitting with a cup of hot tea, enjoying a full view of green mountains, a tranquil lake, and scattered wooden villas at sunset.

Seasonal fruits as well as organic vegetables are also available from the resort's garden. The restaurants at the resort offer simple Hakka foods, exquisite Guangzhou cuisines and Western dishes.

Another specialty of the resort is its recreation and spa center. The center is partially hidden under a huge rock. The recreation section includes a movie theater, a gym, an Internet cafe, a pottery corner, a library, and scores of spa pools.

There are pools of Chinese medicine, jasmine flowers, seaweed and even wines. There are massaging pools, hot sand pools and an infrared wave bathroom. Trying several pools each day, you may still need more than a week to sample them all. The pools are filled with heated underground mineral water and each pool has a thermometer beside it to indicate the current water temperature in Celsius.

One of its spa pools may be the most expensive one in China. The floor was covered with agate, a precious stone believed to be helpful to people's health.

The standard admission charge for the spa center is 128 yuan for adults and half off for children.

The resort admission is 50 yuan. Guests will receive a voucher for the same amount to use once they are inside the resort. Please check with your travel agency or the resort for updated price information during the Spring Festival holidays.

Editor: Catherine