The Gucheng Island Resort is located in Lishui city of Zhejiang province 350 km south of Shanghai. The site is an island in Nanming Lake at the junction of three rivers. The Resort is designed to become a peaceful and harmonious retreat, combining strict Feng Shui design principles with contemporary functional resort architecture. While preserving some mature forest and hilltops, the site plan utilises most of the island in order to lower density and maximise privacy; enhancing the interaction with the landscape. The integration of water is critical to the client and the design, and a 500m long water feature courses through the island to provide a water presence from all buildings and pedestrian ways. In Chinese, LiShui means beautiful water.

Due to the low existing surface level of half of the island, the buildings here must be raised by 4,5m in order to be above the fifty year flood level providing the opportunity to locate back of house, parking and support facilities on the existing ground before backfilling.

The total construction area is 34000m² consisting of a main lobby, public spaces and guest rooms building, two VIP villas, two townhouses, two villas, a spa themed villa and a spa treatment center, 66 keys in all.