Location

Part of the Tianmu Mountains, Moganshan, a luminous bamboo clad mountain situated in Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, is 60km north of Hangzhou and 200km away from Shanghai.

According to Chinese legend, in the Spring and Autumn period of 770- 476 BC, China’s most talented swordsmith Gan Jiang arrived in the mountain. It was here that he cast and forged a pair of special swords on the demand of the Emperor of Wu. Gan’s wife was called Mo Ye, hence the name Moganshan and the main tourist attraction Sword Pond.

The crisp refreshing breezes of Moganshan first enchanted western missionaries in the 1880s. 500 meter above sea level, Moganshan can be as much as seven degrees cooler than Shanghai in the summer. This ideal summer retreat soon attracted the wealthy expatriate community in Shanghai to escape the scotching heat. By 1930s, there were over 200 european style villas built in local granite and sandstone, and the village had its own tennis courts, swimming pool, bakery and churches.

 

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Other wealthy Chinese followed suit, including Du Yue Sheng (known as Big Eared Du) the infamous gangster, as well as Chiang Kai Shek and his wife Soong Mei-ling. With the Japanese invasion in World War II and the subsequent rise of the Community Party in 1949, all the foreigners abandoned their houses and left the mountain. Moganshan was taken over as a military garrison in the 1960s and only reopened to the public in the 1980s.

Today many of these old buildings remain on top of the mountain, some abandoned and dilapidated; and many have been renovated into restaurants and guesthouses.

395 (sanjiuwu) is the name of our charming little village of 18 farmhouses tucked on the southeastern side of Moganshan. Completely remote and hidden in the bamboo forest, 395 is just 20 minutes walk from the main parts of Moganshan. Unlike the grandiose European style stone villas on top of the mountain, the houses found in 395 are unassuming traditional farmhouses constructed with thick mud walls and wood.

naked Retreats find its home in this quiet and peaceful village. Paramount to the vision of naked is to protect the sanctity of this very special place, its people and its spirit.

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