EditedbyTanXingyu
Iwanttousemyboutiquehoteltoconveyideasonsimplelifestylesandencourageeveryonetodiscoverthebeautyaroundthem.
BorninHaikouinthe1980s,WangLuqingisthefounderof1921HuanKe,aboutiquehotelinHaikou,HainanProvince.Hewantstousehishoteltoconveyideasonsimplelifestylesanduniversalconcepts.IwasborninHaikou,HainanProvince.Istillrememberthatwhenfillingoutcollegeapplicationsin2002,myparentsurgedmetochooseauniversityinHainanProvinceeventhoughmydreamwastoseetheworldoutsidetheisland.
Eventually,IwasadmittedtoYantaiUniversityinShandongProvince.Atthetime,IwasveryhappytosaygoodbyetoHainan.
Aftergraduatingfromcollege,IstartedworkingonprojectmanagementforacompanyinGuangzhou,GuangdongProvince,hopingtobuildaworldofmyown.Itraveledalotduringmysparetime.
IhavealwaysenjoyedtravelingsinceIwasyoung,butseldomfoundchancestodosobecauseofeconomiclimitations.So,duringmyfouryearsincollegeandmysparetimeafterwork,Iwentoutalot.
Duringmytravels,Ibecameinterestedinthedesign,constructionandmanagementoftouristattractionsandhotels.Imetmanyveteranprofessionalswithuniqueinsightsthatgreatlyinspiredmyfuturebusinessideasinthehospitalityindustry.
Onedayin2011onmywayhomefromwork,stuckinthetraffic,Iopenedthesunroofinmycartobegreetedwithablueskyandwhiteclouds.Iwasthrilled.
Ithoughttomyself:“Whathappenedtoyou?Ifyougobackhome,youwillenjoyblueskiesandwhitecloudsallyeararound.Whyweren’tyoueversoexcitedthere?”AtthatmomentIknewthatImissedmyhometownandthatIhadbeenawayfortoolong.Ithoughtaboutitallnightandultimatelydecidedtoreturntomyhometown.
Atthetime,theconceptofboutiquehotelswashardlyknowntothepeopleofHaikou,butIbelievedsuchabusinessmighthaveagoodchanceinmyhometown.
Haikou’sblueskies,freshairanduniquelifestylesarehardtofindelsewhere.Eventhoughincomesarehigheroutside,Haikoupeopleunderstandthatlifeisnotallaboutwork.Iwantedtosharemyunderstandingoflifewithmorepeoplebylaunchingaboutiquehotel.
IreceivedalotofpositivefeedbackandsupportwhenIsharedtheideawithmyclassmatesandfamily.
In2012,Ibegantopreparetostartthebusinesstogetherwithseveralofmyfriends.IteamedupwithcollegeclassmatesandfriendswhohadwontheChinaDesignAward,hadspecializedincorporateplanningorhadexperienceinmanagement.Myteamhasexpandedto26memberstoday.
Somecoreteammembers,however,donotliveandworkinHainan,whichhasprovedagoodwaytoprovideaconstantsourceofgoodideasfromaroundChinaandtheworldtoimprovethebusiness.
WebuiltaboutiquehotelbyrenovatingtwooldbuildingswithdesignsuniquetocoastalareasofFujianandHainanandnamedit1921HuanKe.Todayitoffers24rooms,eachwithatailored,poeticname.Thenamesofthe24roomscombinedtogetherformapoem.
“HuanKe”isatermusedbyHainannativestorefertothosewhoreturnedtotheirmotherlandafterlivingforsometime,particularlyinSoutheastAsia.Theyear“1921”wasthezenithoftradebetweenHaikouandSoutheastAsia.
Tracesofthosegoodolddayscanbeseeninalmosteverycomponentof1921HuanKe:bricks,tiles,wallsandpavilioninadditiontoantiquefurniture,memorabilia,classicdoorways,archesandthevintagefrontdesk.
Alongside1921HuanKe,weareworkingonanotherprojectnearHaikouAirport.
Iwanttousethishoteltoremindconsumersofthesimplelifestylesandconceptsthatwereonceessentialandtoencourageeveryonetodiscoverthebeautyaroundthem.
Thegateof1921HuanKe,aboutiquehotelwithahistoricalflavor.