New Chinese golf course ready to roll
American architect Mark Hollinger expects a six-year labour of love to come to an end early next year with the opening of his course at the new Juizhaigou resort in the mountains of Chinaʼs Sichuan province.
Built on behalf of Chengdu-based development firm Honyee Investments, Juizhaigou will be attached to a 400-room resort hotel run by Banyan Tree. The first phase of the hotel is currently under construction.
"The Juizhaigou area is very popular with Chinese and foreign tourists, and has over three million visitors per year," said Hollinger, a partner in the JMP design firm.
Hollinger said the views from many of the holes were stunning.
"It is a similar setting to Yosemite National Park in California."
"It is not a walking course, as we have tried to use the natural setting as much as possible – we wanted it to appear as if it grew out of the natural landforms," he said.
The long construction schedule at Juizhaigou is partly down to the rugged site, but also to the impact of the huge earthquake that hit Sichuan in 2008.
"After the earthquake, all our earthmoving machinery was requisitioned by the Chinese government for almost a year to assist with emergency repairs to roads, dams and other infrastructure," Hollinger said.
Ian Jarrett
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