By Keith Gladdis
Last updated at 11:39 PM on 28th December 2011
A luxury ?50million holiday village is being planned in the Welsh countryside ? especially for Chinese visitors.
Developers are hoping to lure thousands of wealthy tourists from the booming Far East to the complex which will boast a 100-bed hotel and 80 plush holiday homes.
Britain attracted more than 110,000 holidaymakers from China last year ? up 23 per cent on the previous? year ? and they spent an estimated ?184million.
The resort at Pantglas Hall will include a 100-bedroom hotel and 80 holiday homes, aimed at the Chinese
Developers Maxhard Ltd say the design will incorporate a Grade II Listed tower from the original building
Pantglas Hall, once the largest house in South Wales, became an asylum in the 1960s before a small fire in the basement. It was sold again and taken to pieces so its bricks could be used on a hotel in Southern England
WHAT IS THERE TO DO AROUND LLANDEILO?
Dinefwr Park is a local attraction known for its history and landscape.
It is host to Roman forts and a medieval castle alongside two towns and a herd of White Park Cattle.
Castle Woods nature reserve is nearby in the parish of Llandyfeisant there are the remains of Dinefwr Castle, ones home to the government of Wales.
It is believed construction of the castle started in the 9th century but there are no remains from this period and it was rebuilt between 1155 and 1197.
Gelli Aur country park is host to fallow deer, a private mansion with a history stretching 500 years and an arboretum that has been growing and worked on since the 1860s.
The parish church of Llandeilo, St Teilo's, has an impressive tower that is from late medieval times and construction on the rest of the church was finished in 1850.
Twelve miles away is the county town of Carmarthen which has a museum, the Oriel Myrddin and King Street galleries, a theatre, Carmarthen Quins rugby club and the Llangloffan Cheese farm.
A recent indicator of the phenomenon was the large contingent of Chinese shoppers snapping up designer goods at the post-Christmas sales.
Now the first purpose-built holiday centre at a 22-acre site at Llanfynydd, Carmarthenshire, West Wales, is aiming to cash in on the trend.
It will cater for up to 20,000 visitors a year and is expected to include signs in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, and train staff in Chinese customs.
Maxhard Ltd plans to build its resort at Pantglas Hall, where a timeshare complex of 25 Swiss-style log cabins already exists.
The five-storey hotel would incorporate a Grade II listed tower ? the only structure left standing from the original 1830s hall.
The holiday homes would be built in a modern, urban style which the developers believe is ?what would be expected? by its clientele. ?
The plans, which also include a three-storey 220-space car park, ten shops and a swimming pool, are facing fierce opposition from locals who claim the development will have a negative effect on the rural community.
Councillor Meirwen Rees said: ?What advantage is it going to bring to Llanfynydd? It?s not for local people, is it? It is for Chinese holidaymakers.?
A spokesman for Maxhard, which has offices in China and the UK, described the project as ?a luxurious development for a select international clientele, mainly from China, looking to? enjoy a tranquil Welsh retreat?.
One of the new homes that developers hope to use to entice travellers from the Far East
The estate where the hotel could be built is surrounded by the beautiful South Wales countryside of Carmarthenshire
The scheme is due to be considered by planners in Carmarthenshire in the New Year.
Maxhard director Tommy Li hopes the complex will open Wales up to the growing Chinese tourist market.
He said research showed that most visitors from China knew of England and Scotland but had not heard of Wales.
He added: ?We are going to bring at least 20,000 Chinese clients each year to Wales.? Much of China lives in poverty but its burgeoning economy has produced an estimated 960,000 millionaires.
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