Lanshan District, Rizhao, Shandong, China

Xiangwei Kong and his office Kong Xiangwei Studio turn to poetry for the design of the new renovation and addition called the“Watchman Teahouse,” located in Jufeng Town, Lanshan District, Rizhao City, Shandong Province, where he has reconstructed a group of 50-year-old “broken” houses and reconstructs the romantic times of the past and the enduring landscape of this ancient tea farm and its workers.

Kong turns to J. D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” and writes:

“When I was a child, I lived in the countryside and had melon fields at home.” 

“People like them, and so do small animals, to look at the melons.” 

“At that time, the nursing conditions were very simple, just building a shed by the ridge, but as a child, watching melons inside was fun and exciting.” 

“Of course, some people would build a higher shed.” 

“Climbing up the ladder, even the small river, pond, and distant mountains in the mist outside the melon field can be seen in full view.”

“One day, I read ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’”

“The protagonist in the book, Holden, is a 16-year-old boy.” 

“He wants to stay away from the hustle and bustle and live a simple and idyllic life.” 

“After reading this book, I feel very ashamed.” 

“I just want to see a melon and am afraid that naughty children will pick them up, but Holden’s ideals are noble.” 

“He guards against naughty children.” 

“He told his sister that in the future he will be a ‘Catcher in the Rye.’”

“His job was to keep watch there, and if any kid came running to the edge of the cliff, they would be caught, so the kids could run as fast as they wanted.” 

“‘Catcher in the Rye’ has become synonymous with romantic teenage heroism.” 

“I have been building houses in the countryside all the year round, and I often have an impulse.”

“I really want to build a house in the countryside, with the literary color of ‘Catcher in the Rye.’”

Geographically, Rizhao City is the junction of the north and the south of China, and it is rich in tea.

It successfully imports tea from the south to the north. 

Tea trees are originally from the south and are not suitable for the cold climate of the north. 

However, Chairman Mao Zedong felt that Shandong people love to drink tea; and in 1956, he proposed to plant tea in Shandong and green tea already has a huge output.

Chaoyuan Mountain in Jufeng Town is one of the main producing areas of Rizhao green tea. 

In front of Chaoyuan Mountain is a hilly area, and a large area of tea fields are laid out along the north and south mountains. 

There is a dilapidated residential house in the empty tea field in the east with a stone courtyard and a history of 50 years. 

One-third of the old house has collapsed, but the stone house left behind is full of history. 

The courtyard is full of tea trees and because it is an enclosed courtyard, it blocks the cold north in winter. 

Because of the wind, the tea trees grow better than those in the surrounding tea fields. 

The old house is the former residence of a tea farmer who used to live there, taking care of the tea fields and frying the tea. 

At that time, the smoke from the cooking would have been curling up and the fragrance of the tea overflowing. 

Although the old house is dilapidated, it has been watching over this field of hope. 

Now, when people go to the house to relax, it seems to be looking forward to being given new vitality and becoming a new pastoral watcher.

To pay homage to the ‘Catcher in the Rye,’ a brand new building has been added to the dilapidated eastern part of the house. 

The building has a high, white spire, under which it overlooks the entire tea plantation, which the architect calls the “White Lighthouse.”

Facing the in the east, early in the morning, you can watch the sunrise in the fields. 

After the night falls, the lights turn on and become a beacon in the dark night, lighting up the way for pedestrians at night.

The “White Lighthouse” is divided into two parts. 

The east half is completely open and faces the tea fields, and the west half is a glass box, a small tea room that can accommodate several people. 

Sitting on the first floor of the lighthouse building, you can see the tea fields in the yard through the whole glass. 

Due to the limited overall height, the height of the first floor is only two meters. 

At the beginning of the design, the architect felt that the floor height was too short; but after the completion, it became the corners that everyone liked, the height brings a sense of shelter.

The remaining three old houses are traditional buildings in the southeast of Shandong Province. 

Following the concept of preservation and reuse, the outer walls were preserved, so that the stone walls stained with the traces of the years continue to tell the story of time. 

However, the old house was very low and had poor lighting, so the old house was made taller. 

The heightened part is made of steel and the walls are made of glass so that light pours into the room and the house becomes full of light. 

The bar is set close to the west wall, and the whole body is made of simple white steel plates. 

Among them, a narrow and long window is embedded in the west wall of the bar, and one can see the figures of people entering the garden outside the wall.

The east wall of the old house was removed and turned into transparent glass. 

Also at the east wall, a folding staircase was designed. 

Following the folding staircase, one can climb from the old house to the second floor of the new building. 

Because the space of the old house is small, in order to reduce the occupation of space, the steps of the stairs are compressed to 70 centimeters. 

In order to look light, the steps are made of transparent steel grating materials and steel bars are used to hoist the steps. 

The bars connect the steps and are painted in bright red, adding a touch of brilliance to the pure white environment. 

The reinforced steel-hoisted stairs sway when stepping on them, just like the experience of walking on a suspension bridge. 

After completion, the stair has become a favorite place to play for children.

An old yard in an open field is itself a portrayal of idyllic poetry, not to mention that the yard is full of tea trees, so the yard wall must be preserved.

But the original yard wall was built of rubble, which has long been a danger. 

In order to ensure safety, the yard wall needed to be rebuilt with masonry, while using the original stone. 

The tea fields in the yard are preserved and become a poetic green.

The landscape adopts the principle of least intervention, the road tries to cause the least impact on the land, and adopts the overhead steel grid plank road, rainwater penetrates into the ground, and under the grid, there are either tea trees or native wild grass. 

The overhead grille plank road also adds a bit of poetry and fun to the overall experience.

Who are the buildings in the countryside for? 

The architect states: “I think that rural buildings should serve all the public,” and continues:

“This house not only brings visitors a brand new tea village experience, but also a wonderful place to stay.” 

“Similarly, this house and this yard should also become the resting place for the working tea farmers can also shelter from the wind and rain.” 

“The original intention of the design is to let people get the beauty of the pastoral through this small building.” 

“At the same time, I also want the building to activate the slightly quiet village and give Rizhao Green Tea a new sense of picture.”

“I hope that people who come here will with this building, watch over this field of hope,” the architect concludes. 

Project: Watchman Teahouse
Architects: Kong Xiangwei Studio/Guanzhu Landscape & Plandesign Institute
Chief Architect: Xiangwei Kong
Design Team: Li Guodong, Cui Jun, Many Yuan, and Li Zhuoran
Photographers: Literal Translation Architectural Photography