Le Cove in Huzhou, Zhejiang, is aimed at affluent buyers

If you have no idea where Huzhou is, take a look on Google Maps and you will see it is a city in the northern part of the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Lying south of the popular Lake Tai, which borders Hangzhou to the south, the city is attracting growing interest from developers of holiday homes, who have identified it as a potential tourism resort area.

One of the developers building up presence in the underdeveloped city is private mainland enterprise Feizhou Group, which is now marketing its lakeside villa development Le Cove to potential buyers. The project is on the southern shores of Lake Tai.

"Huzhou fascinates visitors with its lush mountains, the mirror-like Lake Tai and its sophisticated charm," said Feizhou Group director David Wong. Feizhou is betting that the natural beauty of the 2,000 square kilometre lake will prove a compelling argument among wealthier Chinese for owning a holiday home in the area.

"Sanya in Hainan in southern China is also a popular location," he concedes. "But it may be too far for some buyers." Another advantage, he adds, is that with a lower density of manufacturing in the area, Huzhou does not have a bad pollution problem.

To be built on a site of around 10 hectares, the project will have a gross floor area of about 48,000 square metres. It will include 73 lakefront villas, of which 14 will be detached and located closest to the lake. The 14 villas will range in size from 740 to 1,260 square metres (excluding basements). Townhouses range from 500 to 650 square metres.