By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Feb.2 (CED) — Aromas of Finnish Pine Wood and Chinese Green Tea meet in Yuhang.

Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province in China is famous for producing tea. Its Yuhang district is no exception and there are many tea mountains in its countryside areas. It is even more intriguing when one visits the Jiawuli town of Yuhang – In the glen between tea mountains there, one could smell the pleasant aromas of green tea mixing with Finnish pine wood.

The latter scent comes from a design center/relax hotel called “Honka September”. It is a 200-sqm log house made of Finnish red pine and is a big contrast to the other farmhouses nearby which are built with bricks and concrete.   

Honka September is the pet project of a couple Frank and ZengZeng. Frank is an architectural designer while Zeng is in the interior design profession. Originally an inhabitant of Jiawuli, Frank used to work and live in Beijing together with Zeng.

In 2017, the couple decided to return home and have a plan to build their “dream home” in Jiawuli. Next year they visited Finland and were most impressed by the log houses there which were designed by Honka.

Established in 1958, Honka is an expert in designing and building Finnish log house. So far the company has already built over 85,000 healthy homes and buildings worldwide which are made of a building material that is sustainable, durable and healthy – and energising.

Frank and Zeng believe building a log house as their dream home is a highly sustainable plan. Trees bind carbon dioxide into themselves and help tackle emission challenge. The antibacterial natural compounds of conifers eliminate bacteria and mould spores from the air and structures. This means that indoor air is healthy and that the structures are durable and free from moisture.

Executing the plan was swift and highly efficient. Frank first designed the log house in computer, then made the order of required log components to Honka. The company produced 200 pieces of customized wood components, with a total weight of ten tons, as per Frank’s specifications. After receiving the shipment from Honka, Frank and Zeng arranged a team of local workers to assemble the pieces together in just two months.

As Frank and Zeng started to formulate the plan in the September 2017 and the log house was entire completed in September 2019, they named it “Honka September” which now serves as an Air B&B hotel.

Frank and Zeng believes their project can allow more Chinese friends to experience the authentic European lifestyle which cherishes sustainability, low carbon and healthiness.

Honka September also collaborates with CoCo MAT China, a European brand promoting sustainability lifestyle, to promote eco-friendly leisure tourism. Coco Mat offers a special “Wooden Bike Tour” event in nearby “Jingshan Flower Sea”. Therefore guests at Honka September can enjoy a leisure bicycle ride to picturesque scenes on top of residing in an European log house.

Honka September

By Chinaeuropenet

Xuefei Chen Axelsson is an independent media person. She has been a journalist for 30 years. She studied English, International politics, and sustainable development. She has been to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and America, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and all the nordic countries including Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Britain. She is good at talking with all kinds of people and exchange ideas and serves as a bridge between China and the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *