Anantara luxury resort and spa offers a Chinese retreat with Thai touch

If taste were of no concern, the new Anantara Xishuangbanna Resort and Spa might have been named to reflect its Chinese and Thai influences. "Thai-na" perhaps. Or "Chi-land".

Thankfully, taste does come into play. And some would argue that Xishuangbanna, a spectacularly cultural region tucked in the southern part of Yunnan province, bordering Laos and Myanmar, is only Chinese by name, not nature.

They'd be half right. Xishuangbanna is a semi-autonomous region with 12 recognised ethnic minorities, including the Hani, Ainu and Dai people, plus Han Chinese, making up the population. The Dai people are the most populous and recognisable here, and it's their unique ethnic aesthetic that has inspired the region's first five-star resort.

The open-air lobby is impressive. Its palatial, peaked teak ceiling, towering columns with hand-painted gold motifs and trickling green pond water feature are all informed - on a grander scale - by the traditional Dai home. Cushioned couches in myriad patterns and delicately crafted "an-teak" chairs where cold towels and welcome tea are served, all hint at what's to come - luxury comforts and service Southeast Asia-style.

The resort didn't stray far from its Thai roots when it chose the locale, which has a very Southeast Asian feel and climate. Eighty deluxe guest rooms and 23 pool villas are spread throughout a luscious tropical garden dotted with pagodas and waterfalls, along with statues of peacocks and elephants (China's last Asian elephant herd can be found in the region).

Elsewhere, market umbrellas and palm trees shade deck chairs beside a pool where frangipani trees send a whiff of would-be expensive perfume through the air and pool boys stand at the ready with icy water, fluffy towels and a cocktail list.