Sugar House Arts and Culture

Sugar House, in the autumn of 2024, the "Year Beast" Project made its debut at Yangshuo Sugar House Resort—AURUA's flagship property. This initiative also serves as AURUA's special tribute to the first Intangible Cultural Heritage-themed Chinese New Year.

The "Year Beast" Project kicks off with the "Year of the Snake Community God Ritual" and will invite one artist each year during the Lunar New Year season to create an installation at Sugar House. Each artwork will blend the morphological traits of that year's Chinese zodiac sign with imaginative interpretations of the mythical Year Beast.

The piece will be unveiled at Sugar House before New Year's Eve, exhibited throughout the Lunar New Year period, and finally set ablaze on the fifth day of the first lunar month to complete the "Community God Ritual." This project will become an annual highlight of AURUA's Chinese New Year celebrations.

Sugar LIVE: Where Music and Nature Converge
In July 2020, Yangshuo Sugar House introduced SugarLIVE, an immersive cultural and artistic experience brand. Built on the philosophy of “music in harmony with nature,” SugarLIVE regularly hosts independent musicians, DJ collectives, and bands from around the world, featuring electronic, jazz, and world music performances. Events take place on the hotel’s riverside terrace or within the historic Bar 1969, where light, sound, and scenery blend into a truly unique atmosphere.

With electronic music parties by the Li River, SugarLIVE has transformed Sugar House into a vibrant cultural hub. Hundreds of artists have performed here, turning each space into an interactive experience. Whether by the pool or in an intimate indoor setting, every event brings an unforgettable rhythm to Yangshuo’s breathtaking landscape.

Launched in 2020, the Sugar House Artist Residency is a creative program centered on art, culture, and innovation. Set within spaces rich in history and nature, it offers artists, creators, and cultural researchers an immersive environment for cross-disciplinary exchange and local exploration.

Through residency projects, exhibitions, and public events, the program bridges local heritage with a global perspective, fostering artistic innovation and cultural dialogue. From nature-inspired creations to ancient town explorations and intimate salon gatherings, artists engage deeply with Yangshuo’s landscape—continuously redefining the connection between contemporary art, local culture, and natural scenery, while curating a one-of-a-kind artistic retreat for Sugar House guests

Yangshuo Sugar House is unleashing its vibrant cultural energy through sustained expansion in the arts. Our exhibition initiatives explore collaborative growth within the artistic community, engaging renowned artists in meaningful dialogue.

We aspire to transcend traditional resort operations by integrating arts-driven experiences, enriching travelers' journeys with spiritual resonance. Every step forward marks a prologue—we remain committed to strengthening our foundation while pioneering innovative cultural-artistic crossovers, promising groundbreaking projects ahead.

"Sugar House New Year Arts Festival · 'Fire Tower' Project"
Launched in the autumn of 2020, the "Fire Tower" Project traces its origins to the visionary spark of Sugar House founder Yang Xiaodong. Amidst the unprecedented challenges of the global pandemic that year, whispers of "bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new" began kindling flickers of hope.

In the coldest winter of 2020,
when the historic sugar mill would normally be bustling with its peak harvest season,
this vision of "renewal through fire" began taking physical form.
That November,
the inaugural burning installation—"Rooted Fire Altar"—was erected on the riverside terrace,
marking the birth of Sugar House's grandest annual event:
the New Year Arts Festival.
From that moment onward,
this fiery celebration became
the resort's most significant ceremonial tradition.