Amid Shanghai’s urban bustle, three luxurious spa therapies invite you to pause, breathe and recalibrate through age-old practices and innovative healing techniques.
Text by: Luo Jingmei
Shanghai is one of the most enticing cities in the world, blending western and eastern culture since the 1800s. Amid the futuristic skyscrapers, colonial-era structures and cacophonous streets, one can find respite in its many spas. Here are three unique treatments that not only offer a time of relaxation but also restore the mind and body using techniques that are science-backed or draw from centuries-old traditions.
Spa Alila, Alila Shanghai
Just a few minutes ago I was traversing the busy streets of Shanghai’s Jing An district. But the space I am now is calm and still. The trickling from a small water feature, ample wood finishes Japanese screens that soften the daylight puts my senses at ease. The reminder of being in this iconic Chinese city is never far away though – some of the window screens have been slid open to reveal a stacked composition of skyscrapers, highways and restored Shikumen brick townhouses. But for now, I am leaving all that behind.
As a wellness centre in an ‘urban resort’, Spa Alila within Alila Shanghai has the hard work of making sure guests leave rejuvenated as they return immediately to city life. For guests with more time, plucking one’s own herbs from the hotel’s onsite organic garden to incorporate into treatments is therapeutic too. This is part of the activity for the 90-minute The Alila Signature Massage, which is one of three signature treatments.
Come early before your treatments to reap the most benefits at the swimming pool with a city view. There is also a Turkish bath, hydrotherapy pool and wet sauna. Each of the five treatment rooms adheres to the nature theme, being named after a healing plant like sandalwood. Like the spa reception, the treatment rooms also enjoy soft light from Shoji screens.
For a truly unique experience in Shanghai, I chose the Thereal Zen Wood Therapy. Similar to Tibetan singing bowl therapy, this multi-sensory treatment uses sound to help balance the mind and melt away tension. It involves a Rain Bamboo ritual as a preparation step for a deep-tissue massage. The masseuse holds a bamboo contraption and turns it up and down to mimic the sound of rain. It is soothing and adds to the relaxed deep tissue massage.
Shanghai Auriga Spa, Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li
Shanghai Auriga Spa is located within the brick-clad walls of Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li in the city’s historical Xuhui District. Designed by the late-interior designer Jaya Ibrahim, the spa block was designed in the same style of the heritage 1930s Shikumen buildings housing the villas, accessed via laneways (called Jian Ye Li) where community life happened in the past. Its interiors meld chinoiserie and modern-European details.
Make sure to arrive earlier than your arranged treatment session to experience the spa’s ample facilities. It is spread over three floors but the residential scale of the spaces makes the experience intimate rather than overwhelming. There are gender-specific steam and sauna rooms, a gravity-free Vitality Pool, a salt room and a Flotation Therapy pod therapy room.
The seven treatment rooms are decked in a residential style, with wall mouldings, table lamps, timber floors and pitched ceilings clad with whitewashed timber panelling. Since I was in Shanghai, I chose a Chinese Meridian massage that stems from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The treatment is done fully clothed without oil.
The aim is to ‘clear’ energy blockages and reintroduce the optimal flow of Qi (vital energy) and blood, improve circulation and restoring overall well-being. The masseuse applied pressure with her thumbs, fingers and palms to specific points along the body’s energy pathways. I gradually ease into a relaxed state but it is when the masseuse starts pressing the base of my feet that I forget everything as I drift off immediately into slumber.
Mi Xun Spa, Upper House Shanghai
Part of the experience at Mi Xun Spa in Upper House Shanghai (formerly The Middle House) is descending underground into the basement and walking along a curved tunnel clad in charcoal-coloured stone. The cavernous space is immediately relaxing, putting one far from the city bustle and bright sunshine of the streets. Famed Italian architect Piero Lissoni’s signature minimal-luxe style provides a calming backdrop to spa sessions at Mi Xun Spa.
One of its unique offerings is the INDIBA® Treatment – a non-invasive radiofrequency therapy that uses patented 448 kHz frequency (RF) energy through Proionic® Cell Boost technology to quicken the body’s natural healing processes at the cellular level. INDIBA® treatments have traditionally been used for sports medication to help with pain relief from joint pains and inflammation.
In the wellness category, INDIBA® helps break down the body’s fat deposits, stimulates collagen and elastin production, and relaxes the muscles. “Traditional heat-based therapies target only the superficial layers of the skin, limited to the epidermis, dermis, and the subcutaneous fat layer at most. However, INDIBA®’s treatment goes beyond the surface and reaches to underlying issues, including the fascia, muscle and even bone,” says Beverly Dong, Director of Spa, on the non-invasive treatment that offers both immediate and lasting benefits.
I experienced the 60-minute INDIBA® Immune System Healing Treatment. The masseuse rubbed a specialised conductive gel used specifically in radiofrequency treatments that helps with proper penetration of the RF energy. The warmness of the gel is immediately soothing. The arms of the INDIBA® machine have flat metal discs functioning as electrodes that rubs the gel over the body. After the session, I not only feel relaxed, but my muscles feel less stiff. I am advised to hydrate in the following hours just like after a workout as my muscles have gone through a metabolic session.
