China hoteliers launch luxury resorts where the stay's about the experience

They are an odd couple. One is an outgoing, international services consultant who opened a boutique luxury lodge in his native Austria; the other is a media-shy IT geek from China who went on to set up one of the country's biggest budget hotel chains. Now the two men are joining forces to create a line of "experiential" hotels for the well-heeled, starting in Shanghai.

Conceived as an eco-friendly, off-the-grid resort, the first project is located on Hengsha Island in the mouth of the Yangtze River, where the attractions will be landscaped gardens, home-grown organic produce and leisure activities such as archery and painting rather than casinos and designer shops.

The venture is the brainchild of Alex Zheng Nanyan, co-chairman of the Plateno Hotel Group. A softly spoken 47-year-old, Zheng began his career in software development but immersed himself in the hospitality business in 2000 after joining Ctrip, the successful online travel agency. The job gave him an insight into the enormous growth potential of China's tourism business and he left to tap into the boom with the 7 Days Inn budget chain, which opened in 2005.

Two years ago, Zheng's scope extended to mid-range hotels when he and his 7 Days partners formed Plateno with two private venture funds (the group now operates the largest hospitality loyalty programme in China, with more than 80 million members who travel internationally as well as domestically).

But the group is also keen to capture a slice of the high-end market, and it has led Zheng to look at places that provide that "new luxury" of experiences for a different breed of Chinese traveller.

"The first generation of tourists just wanted to get out and see the world," he says. "The second focused more on big cities and shopping; the third is looking more for experiences, they have been abroad and also have more time to travel, usually about two weeks."