BREAKING A SALES RECORD, THIS $154 MILLION (1 BILLION YEN) HOME IN CHINA IS A STUNNING TRIBUTE TO TRADITIONAL XIANGSHANBANG ARCHITECTURE

BY EVAN MONROE

Set on a private island on the south shore of China’s Suzhou’s Dushu Lake in the Jiangsu, Province, “Taohuayuan” (“utopia” in Chinese) broke the record for Asia’s most expensive home sold in 2016, a stupefying $1 billion yen ($154 million) when it was picked up by real estate tycoon Chen Hongtian. With 72,441 square feet of living space and on a 1,663-acre plot, the traditional Xiangshanbang style compound (China’s super wealthy are increasingly shunning western-looking homes) features 32 bedrooms and 32 baths. Every bedroom, incidentally, faces south, which presented a challenge for architects but is a style considered pivotal in China for both aesthetics and home value.

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It took developer Sunac China Holdings Limited three years to build, and the company Xiangshanbang Traditional Architectural and Building Skills was commissioned to handcraft all brickwork and plants.

Additional features include a cavernous wine cellar, mist-accentuated topiaries modeled on the Gardens of Suzhou (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and a lakeside swimming pool. Interior layouts and décor are a blend of traditional east-Asian and contemporary approaches.