Mandarin Oriental will manage a luxury hotel project in the heart of Beijing, due to open in 2018, which will showcase traditional Chinese heritage and architecture.

Mandarin Oriental Qianmen will be located close to Tiananmen Square in a hutong quarter – an architectural style unique to Beijing that dates back to the 13th century.

Located within the Qianmen East Hutong Quarter, which is undergoing a process of preservation and regeneration, the hotel is designed to give guests the opportunity to experience luxury living in authentic Beijing surroundings.

Hutongs comprise traditional courtyard houses connected by narrow lanes and alleyways; the hotel will be dispersed through the quarter alongside privately owned traditional residences, retail outlets, restaurants, bars and cultural venues.

“The Mandarin Oriental Qianmen is incredibly unique, offering a truly immersive experience of life in the traditional hutong quarters of Beijing,” said Jeremy McCarthy, Mandarin’s group director of spa and wellness.

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental will also draw heavily on Chinese heritage and culture, said McCarthy, and will showcase the art, history and rituals of northern China.

Wellness experts will offer programmes in Chinese healing traditions such as traditional Chinese medicine and Tai Chi, as well as specialists in European beauty treatments providing modern skin and nail care.

Additionally, several of the guest villas will be designed to accommodate personal spa treatments in guests rooms.

The hotel is being developed by Beijing Tianjie Group Company Limited.