01 REUSE, RECYCLE, RESTORE
Luxury resorts with shining eco-credentials can put a green halo on your next holiday. In Shanghai, the new Amanyangyun resort sets new standards for conservation and restoration. Comprising Ming- and Qing-dynasty architecture, fused with minimalist yet luxe design by Kerry Hill Architects, the estate is nestled in a forest of over 10,000 trees – including a 1,000-year-old Emperor tree. The most amazing part: Each tree and brick in the restored buildings was painstakingly relocated from rural Fuzhou, 700km away from Shanghai. That takes dedication – and about 10 years.
Also a decade in the making is actor and climate-change campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio’s wellness-focused eco-resort Blackadore Caye. The Belize private island, which is rumoured to open late this year or early next year, will be completely powered by solar energy, and aims to have net-zero water usage, and be free of plastic and pesticide. Sitting behind the world’s second-largest barrier reef, the 42ha estate is designed to even improve the natural environment around it.
