A Resort Wrapped in Primordial Forest near Chongqing: 2 Days 1 Night, Zero Contact with Nature

While watching *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel*, I noticed her family would vacation every year in a place called the Catskills—a lakeside town in New York State. When Mrs. Maisel’s agent asked her what she would do there for an entire summer, she replied: "Busy!"

At first, I was as puzzled as her agent: How could a vacation be busy?

But after watching the show, I understood that a real vacation is indeed very "busy." You’re busy experiencing the resort’s abundant entertainment activities, and there’s even a dedicated "event director" who schedules a packed itinerary based on your time.

So this is what a true vacation looks like.

This time, I experienced a resort-style vacation in Chongqing. I was genuinely "busy" to the point of not even having time to look at my phone—escaping the "busyness" of city life and embarking on a different kind of "busyness": immersing myself in nature, rejuvenating my body and mind.

The place is on the western slope of Chongqing’s Golden Buddha Mountain (Jinfo Shan), a resort hidden deep in the mountains and forest—the Jinfo Shan Albion Resort.

Under the pressure of urban concrete jungles, city dwellers need a natural place to breathe fresh air and refresh their eyes. The Jinfo Shan Albion Resort, just a 1.5-hour drive from Chongqing, is nestled in the forest, surrounded by greenery, offering zero distance from nature.

At the Jinfo Shan Albion Resort, you’re "busy" breathing, "busy" relaxing, "busy" exercising, "busy" getting close to nature, "busy" shedding all fatigue and revitalizing your body.

**About Itinerary and Transportation**

Resort: Jinfo Shan Albion Resort

Address: Inside Liangyu Health Valley, West Slope of Jinfo Shan, Nanchuan District, Chongqing

Self-drive: 1.5 hours from downtown Chongqing, only 80 km.

A resort, by definition, is a complex that offers opportunities to get close to nature while enjoying a range of personalized services, including modern leisure and sports facilities, allowing complete relaxation of body and mind.

The Jinfo Shan Albion Resort is large, covering 25,000 square meters. Just driving into the resort involves a long winding mountain road—a truly secluded forest haven.

Rooms: 78

Restaurants: 2

Business: Large meeting rooms

Entertainment: Outdoor cliff-edge infinity pool, indoor skiing, SPA, fitness center, KTV, chess and card rooms, tea room, library

Outdoors: Forest trails, ecological farm

Nearby: Horse riding, fruit picking

Itinerary: 2 days 1 night

Day 1: Depart Chongqing → Resort check-in → Chinese dinner → Indoor skiing → KTV → Fitness → Tea and reading

Day 2: Forest trail hike → Horse riding → Fruit picking → Return

See? In just one weekend, I was so busy having fun! But I was so happy!

On Saturday, I woke up naturally, left home, and reached the Jinfo Shan Albion Resort in just 1.5 hours. Following the winding mountain road, I approached the resort, and from afar, it felt like I had arrived at a water town in Jiangnan.

It’s like a "Suzhou garden" of freehand landscape painting hidden in the Chongqing forest. A grand Chinese garden permeates every corner of the resort.

A large musical fountain changes colors with the rhythm of the music.

It looks stunning at night.

From the resort entrance to the check-in lobby, there are covered corridors the whole way—no worry about scorching sun or rain. All pillars are made of solid Indonesian merbau wood; tapping them produces a thick, resonant sound, showing their quality.

If you don’t want to walk, you can also get a ride from a uniformed gentleman. In short, at the resort, just be a little lazy person.

The hotel lobby features a typical Chinese imperial style, making entering the hall a ceremonial experience.

Dignity and elegance are perfectly presented.

After checking in, the room key becomes a "wristband," freeing your hands—no need to carry a key card case, no worry about losing it. Easy and carefree.

Sleeping comfortably is the top priority at a resort! So I was very excited to open the room door. The corridor design immediately felt pleasing to the eyes.

The room has underfloor heating and an air purifier.

Entering the room, the mountain scenery sneaked in from the balcony—an eye-catching burst of green. All guest rooms have balconies facing the ethereal forest. I took a deep breath.

The lobby is on the second floor; my room was on the first floor. Whether in guest rooms or villa rooms, the view outside is all green.

The room continues the style of Chinese ink-wash landscape painting: elegant, simple, beautiful, with mature colors.

All spaces are open and transparent: the bathroom, bathtub, and room are integrated.

Best of all, there is a video phone by the bed offering V.O service, giving you the feeling of having a butler on call for a premium experience.

The front desk told me that V.O stands for Vacation Organizer—a butler who tailors the vacation service for me. Isn’t that just like the "event director" in *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel*’s resort?

The V.O was my live travel map: arranged horse riding and hiking based on weather, and even booked KTV for me.

The imported latex mattress is soft and bouncy, and the duvet is down-filled. After all, we are on a mountain at 1,200 meters above sea level; Nanchuan Jinfo Shan is a summer resort, and it snows in winter.

The biggest surprise was the resort’s bath products: AHAVA, a national treasure skincare brand from Israel. In Hebrew, AHAVA means "love." AHAVA originates from the Dead Sea region and is a globally recognized Dead Sea mud skincare brand. When I visited Israel two years ago, I brought back a bunch—it’s amazing. Using this brand again at a resort in Chongqing speaks to its high quality.

The tea bags are from Tonghanchun Tea House, a Shanghai time-honored brand with over 230 years of history, founded in the 48th year of Qianlong (1783). Besides bottled water, all drinks in the minibar are free.

Attention to detail shows quality: even the toilet is a smart toilet seat with bidet function.

I came with my parents. They slept well, had fun, and as a daughter, I was very happy.

Besides sleeping, Chinese people, who regard food as the essence of life, care most about eating. Our first dinner was at the resort’s Chinese restaurant, Lancai Xuan.

Lancai Xuan has three private rooms to accommodate different group sizes.

The chef at Albion is a plump Malaysian who worked for many years at Hilton, so the dishes are impeccable in appearance and taste. For example, this Jingu Australian lobster is mouthwatering just to look at.

Walnuts with a hint of wasabi—crunchy and delicious.

Adorable, crystal-clear appetizers.

The chef said Lancai Xuan changes its customized menu every quarter, mainly offering traditional Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, and fusion dishes using local ingredients.

Yew spring chicken tofu—don’t be fooled by its light appearance; every bite is nourishing.

Highland barley with abalone: the abalone is large, plump, and tender. The highland barley is especially tasty—perfect with rice; before I knew it, I had finished a bowl of congee.

Stone pot minced pork with aged tofu: the aged tofu is chewy and full of flavor.

Health-preserving sea cucumber with tomato: both ingredients are excellent for nutrition.

How could Sichuan people do without spicy food? This big bowl of fragrant seafood Mao Xue Wang (blood and tripe in spicy broth) brings back the heat.

Jade pepper fragrant fish: a ring of green chili around the fish belly glitters like jade under the light.

Nanchuan’s most famous product is square bamboo shoots (Fangzhu Sun), made from Jinfo Shan bamboo. Cooked with white oil (light oil), it retains the bamboo’s fragrance and original taste—crisp and springy, unlike bamboo shoots from elsewhere.

Palatial salt-baked sesame chicken: sesame seeds burst with fragrance between the teeth.

In addition, the resort’s Western restaurant, where buffet breakfast is served, is just to the right of the lobby. Besides the open dining area, there are small rooms separated by screens.

My mother kept complimenting how beautiful the restaurant was, so I couldn’t help taking more photos.

Breakfast at the resort is very abundant, with both Chinese and Western options. For example, my family of three had different preferences: my mom wanted congee, my dad wanted noodles, and I wanted bread—all satisfied.

At the resort, it’s not just about eating and sleeping; when you need leisure time, there are many ways to relax:

[1] Snow Cube: indoor skiing. Similar to a treadmill, it allows skiing enthusiasts to enjoy skiing in a limited space.

Indoor ski simulator: unlimited length, endless skiing. Professional coaches are on site to help you quickly master correct skiing movements and postures. The indoor temperature is constant, so you can ski all year round.

Opening hours: 14:00-17:00

[2] KTV + Chess and card rooms + Game room + Tea room

I love singing. Once, traveling alone in Zhuhai, I booked a three-hour solo mini room at night and held a three-hour personal concert. The waiter kept peeking through the door mirror, probably thinking, "This woman is amazing—she can sing alone for three hours without an audience!" I am my own best audience!

The resort has three KTV rooms; the middle one is the largest, enough for a party.

Next door is the chess and card room—Sichuan people’s vacation starts with playing mahjong.

These entertainment rooms are all on the basement level accessible by the spiral staircase: in order, KTV + table tennis room + chess and card room + tea room.

All are free, bookable through the V.O.

[4] SPA: still my favorite Israeli brand—ALBION SPA BY AHAVA.

Three treatment rooms: one double, two singles. The SPA center uses AHAVA products, the same brand used in the guest rooms of the Atlantis Sanya.

Opening hours: 12:00-21:00

[5] Library

For those who prefer quiet, you can pick a book from the shelves and spend some time with literature.

[6] Gym

After eating so much of the chef’s fusion cuisine at night, you can burn calories in the gym.

I do have a habit of exercising, which is why I prefer quality hotels—they have gyms.

[1] Forest Trail

At a resort surrounded by forest, you must not waste this unique natural condition. Get within 0.00000 mm of the forest.

All trails have anti-slip treatment, so walking in rain is not slippery.

The mountain mist is always drifting; viewing the mountains through mist is like an ink wash painting with perfect shades. Clouds and mist act like curtains, making the peaks appear and disappear, creating a hazy fairyland.

The forest trail has several viewing platforms to better appreciate the mountain mist.

As I walked, I found alpacas! There is a small alpaca garden hidden in the forest—adorable and dignified alpacas.

My parents loved this forest trail even more. They woke up early and walked there, absorbing plenty of negative oxygen ions before returning for breakfast.

It takes only 10 minutes to walk from the hotel to the forest trail, or you can take the hotel’s electric cart to the entrance for free. At the entrance, there is also a small non-powered children’s playground to meet the needs of families with kids.

If you want the thrill of galloping on horseback, you can drive to the horse riding field at the foot of the resort, also bookable through your personal V.O.

The horse riding field has professional coaches. Children can ride ponies. Surrounded by green mountains, fresh air, and open spaces, both adults and children find it wonderful!

The horse I rode was named "Balance." I haven’t seen a horse with such shiny coat and strong muscle lines in a long time—it was beautiful!

Spending a perfect weekend at a resort that is secluded but not isolated is a brief respite for every urbanite. Before you leave, take this detailed resort guide and recharge yourself!