【Shanghai Daily & JING'AN News】Moments in March

Nanjing Road W. commercial Zone to Hit Retail Sales Mark

Nanjing Road W. commercial zone launches a three-year campaign to boost its retail sales of consumer goods to 100 billion yuan by the end of 2025.

The Nanjing Road W. commercial zone is expected to fetch 100 billion yuan (US$14.62 billion) in total retail sales of consumer goods by the end of 2025, becoming the first commercial zone in Shanghai to reach the mark, it was revealed at the 2023 Forbes China Jing'an West Nanjing Road Forum.

The Nanjing Road W. commercial zone covers 1.8 square kilometers around Nanjing Road W, east to Chengdu Road N, west to Zhenning Road, south to Weihai Road and Yan'an Road and north to Beijing Road W. and Yuyuan Road.

It has been officially defined as a high-end international commercial precinct, on par with the ChampsElysees in Paris, Via Montenapoleone in Milan, Orchard Road in Singapore and Regent Street in London.

“Actually, across the country, there are some prominent commercial projects, like SKP in Beijing and Taikoo Li in Chengdu. They are not untypical,” said Shen Hong, director of the Jing’an Commerce Commission.

She added, “But in terms of a commercial zone, it’s hard to find any in China to rival Nanjing Road W., which has so many grand shopping malls like Plaza 66 and Jiuguang department store, and features multiple types of economy like brand economy and nightlife economy.”

Figures show that total retail sales of consumer goods in the commercial zone added up to nearly 80 billion yuan in 2022.

It is estimated to reach 100 billion yuan in three years.

Under new measures, authorities will continue to push the economy and digital consumption forward.

“In recent years, we have introduced and fostered business entities with great capability of brand operation and considerable overseas influence so as to help Nanjing Road W. evolve into a highland of global brands,” Shen observed.

According to Plaza 66, one of the most well-established and reputable luxury malls in the city, Jing’an is an entry point of new products into Shanghai and China. Since earlier this year, its economy has gathered pace and the mall has confidence in the local market.

Meanwhile, the Jing'an Commerce Commission has invited 12 experts and industry insiders to watch over the development of the Nanjing Road W. commercial zone.

They include Bruno Lannes, senior partner at Bain & Company; Lan Zhenzhen, chief corporate affairs and engagement officer of L'Oreal North Asia and China; Cynthia Chu, regional managing director of Eastern China of CBRE; and Professor Zhang Yina from Fudan University.

Besides, a plan to optimize the consumption environment in Jing'an was also unveiled.

It contains 46 tasks in five categories. To name a few, administrative procedures to get business license will be further simplified; customs clearance service will be optimized; and malls, headquarters and e-commerce platforms are encouraged to build one-stop digital system covering online and offline businesses.

At the forum, Jing'an was also awarded the certificate as a demonstration district of international and digital consumption center.

Figures show online retail sales now account for half of the total retail sales of consumer goods in Jing'an as a set of measures to encourage digital economy has come into effect.

The downtown district has been encouraging companies to set up headquarters, R&D centers and open innovation platforms which focus on digital economy, and it has fostered Baozun, Trueland Information Technology and other domestic industrial leaders in big data.

Notably, Jing'an has pioneered the use of digital currency in the Nanjing Road W. commercial zone.

Tuilps in Full Bloom across Jing'an

Jing'an's annual tulip festival is back, with nearly 600,000 flowers bursting into a rainbow of colors across the district.

Since 2015, the Jing'an-based festival has grown to become one of downtown Shanghai's grandest flower feasts.

This year, the tulips are blanketing 33 sites throughout the district, including parks, malls and streets, allowing people to enjoy the blossoms.

The largest“art flower field” in the city is at Jing'an Sculpture Park, where flowers are set up in front of sculptures made by artists from all over the world.

More than 7,000 potted tulips are in bloom all over Jing'an Joy City, especially around the mall's 56-meter-diameter, 98-meter-tall Sky Ring Ferris Wheel.

Nearly 6,000 potted tulips have been placed on outdoor terraces, steps and promenades at two Jiuguang department stores in Jing'ansi and Daning, respectively.

A tulip garden with winding pathways has been created at CITIC Square. The Jing’an Kerry Center has done the same.

The vibrant colors also cover streets such as Nanjing Road W., Beijing Road W., Hengfeng Road and Moling Road.

Community Enjoys 15-minute Access to All Conveniences

‘Baby House’

Children enjoy a happy time at a “Baby House”

in Jiangning Road Subdistrict. — Jiang Xiaowei

The subdistrict is the first in the city to launch the “Baby House” project, which offers daycare to children under the age of 3.

Shanghai has been establishing childcare facilities in communities to alleviate parents’ burdens. This year, the city launched the “Baby House” pilot project to “embed” childcare services in existing venues to make lives easier for working parents and grandparents.

The subdistrict currently has four “Baby Houses.” They are housed in a community comprehensive eldercare center, a community CPC service center and kindergartens. The most recent one, which opened this month at the Wujiang Kindergarten, is considered an “upgraded version” — not only a “Baby House,” but also a “Mother School.”

A young mother named Xiaoqing was among the first to bring her 2-year-old child to the site. She hoped that the teachers would assist her baby's language development and teach her how to communicate with toddlers.

She said it will relieve her worries when the baby starts kindergarten in September.

It currently provides free childcare and parenting advice. More sites have been added to meet the demand.

Fancy Landmarks

New cultural and commercial landmarks have emerged to enliven the subdistrict. The most recent is MOHO Mall, which opened in January.

The mall's décor includes a red-brick courtyard, a retro bell tower and other old Shanghaistyle elements to echo the vibes of a heritage-listed and centuryold shikumen lane-house building standing in front of the mall — the former site of the Communist Party of China's Secretariat of the Central Committee.

Between the end of 1927 and June 1931, the CPC used the site to read and store classified documents.

The mall is now attempting to create a trendy environment.

It has opened more than 50 new stores and is planning a special area to promote a new fashionable lifestyle.

Shan Kang Li is another popular meeting place for foreigners.

It was the only neighborhood on the Chinese mainland to be named one of the world's 40 coolest by global magazine “Time Out” in 2020.

It originally comprised Westernstyle red-brick structures such as police offices and dorms around a century ago at the intersection of Shaanxi Road N. and Kangding Road. It was later converted to an industrial site featuring factories and workshops.

Some of the historic structures, particularly a former Sikh temple in the center of the site, were well preserved during renovation. It is now a posh lifestyle hub in the subdistrict with office, dining and retail space.

It is highly recommended that you have a cup of coffee at Shan Kang Li because it has many great coffee shops that provide a delightful outdoor experience. The most unique is Lanna Coffee, which employs hearing-impaired baristas.

A Historic Stroll

The subdistrict contains nearly 40 cultural and historical heritage sites, making it ideal for a historic stroll.

The area is peppered with historical buildings of various styles, such as garden villas and red-brick townhouses, particularly Pacific Garden, which was built in the early 1920s and was once used by its developer, then-Chinese Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang, to house Jewish refugees for free.

Another relic of that era is the Ohel Rachel Synagogue.The Communist Party of China's footprints are also visible, such as the former residence of Nie Er, who composed China's national anthem, and the former site of the CPC Secretariat.

These locations have been meticulously preserved. Local residents have played an important role in preserving local cultural and historical memories through a variety of activities, such as creating a cultural map of some of the area's historic sites.

Protected buildings, former celebrity residences and factory sites were chosen by local residents for their treasured memories and legendary stories. Along with the map, there are paintings of the locations, all of which were created by residents.

Brewing Cultural Heritage

An event to empower the ethnic minority rural women and promote China's traditional craftsmanship was held on March 7, on the eve of International Women's Day.

Two rural women from southwestern Yunnan Province — Zhang Hanmin, an ethnic Bai, and Duan Wanjun, an ethnic Yi — wore ethnic dresses and presented ethnic crafts at the Starbucks Intangible Culture Heritage Concept Store in Shenyuli, a former shikumen lane-house neighborhood and heritage-listed site incorporated into the Shanghai Suhewan MIXC World.

Specifically, Zhang from Zhoucheng Village of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, known as the hometown of Dali-stye tie-dyeing, was revolutionary in using traditional handicraft techniques and coffee grounds to create tie-dye artworks.

Duan, also from Dali, gave a class, teaching participating guests to use Yi-style embroidery skills to embroider the pattern of magnolia, Shanghai's official city flower.

It's part of the “Rural Mother Accelerator” charity project launched by Starbucks with the aim to empower rural women and skilled craftswomen, and promote China's intangible cultural heritages and rural revitalization as well.

Be Green Fingers

A community gardening center opened this month in Caojiadu Subdistrict, allowing residents to have classes on how to be green fingers, enjoy coffee surrounded by flowers and take part in community gardening activities.

The center in Caojiadu Garden is a hydrangeathemed garden tucked away at the intersection of Yuyao and Kangding roads.

A flower fair was held on March 10 to celebrate its opening, with a variety of flowers for sale. Meanwhile, a photography event kicked off, encouraging local residents to take photos of the green, welcoming community. It will run through the end of May.

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry flowers have burst into a carnival of pink at the Jing’an Sculpture Park. The park is adorned with more than 70 cherry blossom trees near Shimen No. 2 Road. Currently in full bloom is a new variety hybridized from prunus campanulate, a native to China’s Taiwan region, and prunus speciosa, commonly known as Oshima cherry, a native to Japan. After it ends, the somei-yoshino strain will take over the park and create a white sea of flowers.

Design Miami

The Design Miami/Podium x Shanghai fair, in its second year, opened this month at Zhangyuan, a shikumen-renovated cultural and commercial landmark in the city. The fair, known as the twin exhibition of the top international art fair, presented nearly 200 works by renowned art galleries and institutes from all over the world, such as Gallery Sohe, Objective Gallery and Pearl Lam Galleries, under the theme of “Transcendence.” It offered a subtle blend of contemporary art and historical buildings.

Painting Unsettled

“Painting, Unsettled,” the first exhibition of the UCCA Edge this year, opened on March 11.

Eight Chinese-born artists — Han Mengyun, Ce Jian, Li Ran, Li Yongxiang, Qiu Xiaofei, Wang Xiaoqu, Wang Zhibo and Xie Nanxing — try to explore the possibilities offered by painting in today's era of fractured information and reinvigorate the art amid the global uncertainty in the status quo.

The exhibition will last until May 21.

New Waterfront Area

A new waterfront area has opened to the public on the north bank of the Suzhou Creek.

The 250-meter section along Beisuzhou Road is between Zhejiang Road N. and Fujian Road N.

It used to be an enclosed area barricaded by high anti-flood walls. After renovation, it has become a waterfront garden, covering nearly 8,000 square meters.

It is sowed with trees and flowers, some with special flower landscapes, and paved with wavy-patterned pavements so as to echo with the river. In particular, under the Fujian Road Bridge, grating decorations and glass lamp boxes were built to deck the place and create a feeling of ripples.

Besides, a rest house was set up for passersby to take a rest.

Car Boot Charity Bazaar

A car boot charity bazaar was held at the Shibei High Technology Park on March 3, two days ahead of Lei Feng Day.

Chinese solider Lei Feng is a national icon symbolizing altruism and voluntarism, and late Chairman Mao Zedong designated every March 5 as “Lei Feng Day,” calling on the public to learn from his spirit.

Seventeen companies including XPeng, Bright Food and Baozun Inc, the park's operator and local workers donated clothes, electronic gadgets, health products and other items.

The money was raised to buy water purifiers for primary schools in the remote mountainous Guangnan County in southwestern Yunnan Province. Every water purifier is able to supply clean drinking water to 300 to 500 children.

It was a new charity project launched by the park, which began operations this year.

编辑：徐悦琳

资料：区新闻办、上海日报

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