4 luxury hotels that offer a Chinese heritage experience like no other

China has some of the most resplendent luxury hotels housed within its heritage buildings, whether they are centuries-old residences for aristocrats from previous dynasties or striking neo-classical buildings built in the early 20th century.

Here are five that you simply must visit in 2019.

Temple House, Chengdu

Swire Hotels’ prized asset in the Szechuan city is fronted by a centuries-old residence for officials that boasts a graceful courtyard flanked by handsomely restored wings.

Most of the hotel’s operation is housed within striking glass structures that tower into the sky, but enough of the past has been tastefully retained and amalgamated with modern facets to ensure this is a preferred address of design and architecture buffs.

Diaoyutai Boutique Hotel, Chengdu 

Located within the famed Broad and Narrow Alley, a historic enclave in Chengdu once reserved for favoured officials of the Qing emperor, the hospitality space of Diaoyutai was carved from two blocks of handsome grey brick villas and injected with eclectically attuned interiors wrought through the hands of French designers and Chinese artists.

Beautiful accents left untouched are the graceful tiled roofs and the artfully restored wooden lattice doors.