Three new leisure developments, spanning 435 acres (176 hectares) will open next to the luxury Chinese golf and hot spring spa retreat Mission Hills Haikou on the island of Hainan in 2015, potentially bringing increased footfall for the wellness facility.

Mission Hills Haikou is one of three family-owned leisure and wellness resorts in China. The Chu family from Hong Kong has a golf course retreat in Shenzhen and one in Dongguan, acquired in 1992, and another golf escape with 168 volcanic hot springs in Haikou on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. The Haikou property features 90 spa treatment rooms, designed by both SB Architects and EDSA from the US, in addition to a 539-bedroom onsite hotel.

Peggy Liong, the Mission Hills Group’s executive director spoke exclusively to Spa Business, detailing developments planned for neighbouring sites, including a low carbon footprint town being built in collaboration with Marriott, next to Mission Hills. There will also be a leisure, shopping, dining and cultural destination in partnership with entertainment brand Lan Kwai Fong.

Five minutes down the road, Mission Hills is creating a movie town with two of the biggest names in the Chinese film industry – director Feng Xiaogang and the Huayi Brothers Media Group. This project is set to include the world’s largest movie studios alongside cinema, dining and 24-hour shopping attractions.

Six new hotels are planned across the sites, including a Ritz-Carlton, a Renaissance hotel and China’s first Hard Rock Hotel. Although the Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance properties will each feature 1,000sq m (10,764sq ft) spas, the increase in guests is expected to feed into Mission Hills’ spa and springs customer base.