Adagio Jinguash

Picks--A book giving you peace and the fragrance nourishing you

It is not yet the time for dinner upon your arrival. It’s teatime, for which a cup of hot tea with a few pieces of pastries is the best. The refreshing aroma of tea accompanying with crispy taste becomes the reminder of what is always ignored in the intense daily schedule. The special dessert offered here varies with seasons and adds a satisfying flavor to this trip.

After the tea, it is the special check-in ritual before the full settlement. You first need to choose a few sentences and the smell you are fond of. “A spell of rest, and quiet breath, and cool/Heart, that sinks through fading colors deep...”--an excerpt from “Sonnet” by Elizabeth Bishop whose words leave trace of poetic mood on the card. Reading the poem with the wind blowing through common reeds of the mountain makes you feel the serenity of life in seclusion. Slowly the butler recites the card on which the source of the quotes is marked. When reciting and appreciating the power of words, you are surrounded by serenity, be it rainy or windy. After slowing yourself down in this part of ritual, you find any scenery brings peace; there is no dramatic change in mood but a wide-open mind. This tarot card-like picking game is actually a process of selecting a room. A word leads to a particular room and it will be the theme of this trip of yours.

After reciting the card, a few bottles of essential oil bring you to another world filled with various fragrances: the romantic and mysterious smell of lavender, refined and delicate rosy aroma, beautiful and pleasant scent of lily as well as the bright and lively savor of verbena. This part of the ritual always surprises female guests. After selecting the fragrance which echoes your soul, the butler will prepare the bathroom supplies with the same smell you choose from, which relaxes you in the lovely aroma. Since you feel carefree and calm, everything gets clear. Downshifting makes ordinary things extraordinary.

Evoking the sensitivity and the spiritual life

Upstairs is the study of Adagio where sits a huge toy bear. On the shelves are books about this colorful world. Besides books, films and music are also available to feed the hungry for an eager soul. Works of local artists are exhibited in the public area. The hallway is a gallery where arts touch hearts casually. The steady wooden floor, with the particular warmth of the wood, directs the way for the gentle sleep in bed.

At the corner of the room stands an easel. The window in the room gathers the scenery of four seasons for you. Walking closer to the window platform, you can appreciate the difference in detail. During the spring and summer time, a variety of greens will jump into a view, such as lime green, grass green, mint green and teal. Nature herself holds the most elaborate palette, displaying the most picturesque illustration in front of you. During autumn and winter, silver grass will spread the mountain. When the wind blows, the gentle white wave sings the song to praise the vast mountains. The affluent feast for senses makes the traveler staying here a poet as well as an artist. Jinguashi, surrounded by mountains, leaves a few heritage of mining path along with mountains. Time seems to stop here. When you hide in Adagio Jinguashi, everything slows down in the mountains. With the tempo, you comfortably rest and walk into a sound sleep with pleasant dreams.

Adagio’s attitude: downshifting and slow food

Besides afternoon tea, dinner and breakfast are also provided in the dining room with wooden interior design, warming travelers’ hearts as well as belly. The unique atmosphere of the mountain is elaborately fused into the cuisine. The chefs choose local seasonal vegetables to create dishes. To preserve the original taste and freshness of the ingredients, they won’t heavily season. In the mountains, the delicacy can be savored carefully with silent moonlight. The butler will tell the story of each dish to lead travelers on site to enjoy the food in adagio tempo, which eases the tension accumulated unconsciously in daily life. What welcomes the sunrise is the signature breakfast of Adagio served in a nine-dish box. The big breakfast contains nostalgic flavor: healthy sweet potato porridge with golden steamed egg, Taiwanese pork stew, stir-fried vegetables and some side dishes which varies according to the seasons and the availability daily supplies.

“Adagio is the unit of time” is the core idea of Adagio Jinguashi. It can be the distance of a cloud’s floating, of turning a book’s pages, and of silver grass’s movement. Walking slowly in the mountains and giving one a new unit to measure time turn oneself into a new leaf, washing away the impurities of a soul and regaining the raw emotions.