dine like chinese royalty in this renovated traditional beijing hutong by LDH design

mansion feast restaurant by LDH design

Interior design practice LDH Design has completed Mansion Feast, a 1,230 sqm restaurant that specializes in Chinese aristocratic cuisine. Tucked away near a temple in Beijing’s old town, in a hutong in Dongcheng District, the restaurant is set within a renovated, 30-year-old, traditional quadrangular courtyard compound residence known as a siheyuan. Formerly a cultural venue called the Jinyang Hanlin Academy, the compound was transformed into an elegant dining destination that evokes the ceremonial splendor of Chinese imperial residences.

all images by Wang Ting

conjoined courtyards and traditional chambers

In Mansion Feast by LDH (see more here), the indoor dining rooms are available for private gatherings, while its central courtyard is open to the public for afternoon tea and dinner. The courtyards can also accommodate musical performances, cocktail parties, exhibitions, press conferences, or other events.

As is typical of siheyuans, the compound features three conjoined courtyards surrounded by a series of chambers with traditional, grey, pitch-tiled roofs. These chambers are connected by a corridor running through the middle of the compound. From the entrance, one passes through an archway then a corridor into the first courtyard where marble paving stones set amidst landscaped waterways lead to an open kitchen that’s semi-concealed by a bamboo ‘forest’. To the right of the entrance, is a terrace that functions as a viewing platform where guests can look down at the courtyards, the Beijing Imperial Academy, and the hutong beyond the compound’s walls. LDH installed mirror panels on the wall of the staircase landing on the terrace level, so a reflection of Beijing’s old town and the golden roof of the Beijing Imperial Academy can be seen before guests step onto the terrace.

decorated in gold lacquer

From the first courtyard, guests proceed through a door adorned with flowers, along a winding corridor, towards the central courtyard. Beyond the central courtyard is the third courtyard which is connected to a semi-open banquet hall. The ceiling and upper walls of this hall are decorated in gold lacquer, which together with the grey walls and crimson door posts, create an elegant, contemporary atmosphere. ‘On a sunny day, this gilded hall changes with the light and shadow, as if it were breathing,’ lead designer Liu Daohua shares.

On one side of this banquet hall is a leisure area where guests can relax and chat before or after meals, and on the other side are wine cellars and cigar lounges. Flanking the principal yard on the east and west are wings that contain private dining rooms – each with its own small garden that looks out to the bamboo ‘forest’.

Maintaining the architectural integrity of the siheyuan was LDH’s priority, so they removed the dilapidated walls and floors of the original building, but retained the compound’s original structure and layout, along with its existing wells, courtyards, and structural beams. “We kept the original, colored drawings on the facade too, and integrated them with the surrounding environment. To modernize the space, we installed glass curtain walls along the north and south walls of the main hall. This enhanced the visual connectively of the interior program to the courtyards,” says Liu.

The Mansion Feast project exemplifies LDH Design’s philosophy of being respectful of the relationship between design and nature, architecture and history, and context and culture. “Mansion Feasts is an open platform, which provides a space for everyone. What we’ve designed is a modern restaurant and event venue that celebrates the ancient imperial history of Beijing in an unforgettable way,” says Liu.