WONDERS AT THE WALL

OUR VOLKSWAGEN speeds down Badaling Highway, away from the dust of Beijing and into the countryside, where bits of the Great Wall peek out of the rugged mountains in the distance. Through the toll point and the wall's Shuiguan entrance, the car passes a small but bustling marketplace filled with souvenir stands before it drives through a small village of rundown red-brick homes and badly paved paths.

Here is where the old China ends and the new begins.

The car veers towards the right and soon the dirt road leads to a newly laid gravel path dotted with light boxes. On our right is a wall, not the wonder, but a stylish concrete structure with grooves, designed by Beijing-born artist Ai Weiwei. Security guards stand alert by the immaculate landscaped gardens. This is a prelude to an even bigger surprise down the road - a gleaming collection of ultra-modern habitats and possibly the next exclusive playground for the rich: Commune By The Great Wall.

A 100-million yuan (HK$94.3 million) project bankrolled by Beijing-based developer Redstone, the Commune By The Great Wall is perhaps the most daring and unusual development China has seen. In a valley a stone's throw from Badaling, the most frequently visited section of the Great Wall, an eight-kilometre area of barren land has been turned into a showcase of modern Asian architecture.

Twelve of the region's brightest architects have taken on this unusual assignment of erecting a concept house each, culminating in an 'architectural exhibition' made of wood, glass, slate, steel and concrete.

When their villa creations are officially opened in the autumn - the developers are aiming for a September launch - they will become China's first conceptual boutique hotel where travellers who shell out a minimum of US$1,000 (HK$7,800) a night can live in avant-garde homes filled with 21st-century comforts and with a priceless view of the Great Wall.