While The PuXuan Hotel and Spa may not yet be widely known in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, it is one of Beijing’s most prestigious addresses among well-heeled locals and the Chinese art world. For design aficionados and culture vultures, it is a hotel worth knowing.
Just a 15-minute walk north-east of the Forbidden City, the PuXuan occupies the upper floors of the Guardian Art Center, in the heart of Beijing’s art and museum quarter. The Leading Hotels of the World member is managed by Urban Resort Concepts and owned by China Guardian Auctions—the country’s largest and most influential auction house, and a key player in the Asian art market, which also owns the Guardian Art Center.
Designed by internationally acclaimed German architect Ole Scheeren, best known in Beijing for the CCTV Headquarters, the mixed-use building looks towards the former imperial heart of the city. Many rooms offer views of the Imperial Palace and Dongcheng, one of Beijing’s oldest districts.
Hotel by an auction house
Five pairs of carved stone mendun—the traditional stone blocks found at old courtyard homes—flank the entrance, while the compact lobby is dressed in pale timber, rattan, and thick carpeting. A landscape painting by renowned Chinese artist Qiu Deshu anchors the space, introducing a broader art programme developed in collaboration with the Guardian Art Center.
Across the hotel’s 92 guest rooms and 24 suites, Shanghai-based interiors firm MQ Studio draws on Beijing’s history and culture through metaphor rather than overt ornamentation. Locally rooted materials, handcrafted furnishings, and understated cultural cues sit within a clean, contemporary framework. Pale wood panelling wraps the walls, while rattan screens slide across to separate the sleeping area from the rest of the room. Furniture comes courtesy of Shang Xia, the Chinese lifestyle brand founded in partnership with Hermès.
The link with China Guardian appears in small but practical ways. In-room safes are large enough to accommodate small artworks. One television channel runs live coverage of the auctions downstairs, allowing guests—many of them collectors or art-world insiders—to follow a sale from bed. Over breakfast, snippets of conversation about lot numbers and gallery openings drift between tables.
Before matcha was Japanese
The Tea Room at PuXuan sits around an inner courtyard, with long windows looking over old neighbourhood rooftops towards the palace. Tables are generously spaced, the setting stripped back to bowls, bamboo whisks, and jars of tea powder laid neatly before each seat.
During the Song dynasty tea tasting, the tea master opens with a surprise for Japanophiles: whisked powdered tea—what we now know as matcha—originated in China during the Song period, centuries before it travelled to Japan and evolved into the tea ceremony there. Powder is measured into wide bowls, hot water added, then whisked until a pale, dense foam forms. The first bowl tastes savoury, with a slightly grainy texture—far from the clear infusion one might expect of Chinese tea. Subsequent rounds reveal more floral and nutty notes. Like the sybarites of old, I am encouraged to make a quick sketch across the foam and admire my handiwork while snacking on small sweets served alongside the tea.
Dining as considered as the dishes
Rive Gauche, the PuXuan’s modern French restaurant where breakfast is also served, is styled with subtle Parisian inflections. Its art, objects, and cabinetry lend the room a quietly theatrical, lived-in charm. When the weather turns balmy and rooftop dining becomes possible, the hotel rolls out a seasonal brunch, with generous plates—such as a lobster Cobb salad—designed for lingering weekends and city panoramas.
Fu Chun Ju, the Cantonese restaurant one level down, features glossy black floors, amber-tinted ceilings, and booths arranged around a central open area—a loose nod to a traditional courtyard house. In the kitchen, Hong Kong-born chef Waikit Yeung leads with a firm grasp of Cantonese classics: deftly executed dim sum, roasted meats done just right, and soulful, nourishing soups. My double-boiled chicken soup with dried matsutake arrives as a clear, golden broth—sweet, restorative, and gently perfumed by the mushrooms. It is easy to see why Fu Chun Ju has retained its one Michelin star every year since 2020.
Cultural exchange
The five-month-old Guerlain spa at The PuXuan feels like a hushed extension of the hotel’s architecture, rendered in soft light, pale stone, and clean lines that recall a contemporary courtyard retreat. The design salutes Beijing in subtler strokes: the calm, calligraphy-like flow of the spaces, and rituals that echo traditional Chinese healing practices. Yet beyond the products used, there are touches that nod to Guerlain’s European heritage—a fan from Maison Duvelleroy here, a bone-china installation by Paula Bastiaansen there—catching the light like a cloud of porcelain petals.
Plugged into Beijing’s art grid
The Guardian Art Center itself completes the picture. Purpose-built as a hybrid museum, fair venue, and auction house, it runs a year-round programme of exhibitions, sales, and events that draws a steady flow of artists, collectors, students, and the simply curious through its doors. Large halls showcase modern ink, traditional painting, and contemporary work, while smaller spaces host more experimental projects and previews. Guests at the PuXuan can simply take the lift down to the shows; some room packages even include admission or guided visits. Clearly, this is a hotel where art lovers feel right at home.
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