ANN/CHINA DAILY – With retail footfall and consumption figures continuing to recover, Shanghai is accelerating business development by boosting shopping mall and retail space supply.
It is projected that some 490,000 square metres (m2) of new retail space will be released in the second half, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate services and investment firm.
A separate report issued by the Shanghai Council of Shopping Centres earlier this year predicted that the city’s number of shopping malls with a size above 30,000m2 each will surpass 400 this year, and the rising density of shopping centers across the city will intensify competition within the retail sector as well.
Below is the selection of new shopping centres regarded as online sensations according to social media platform Xiaohongshu, the Chinese equivalent of Instagram:
PANLONG TIANDI
Shanghai Panlong Tiandi was officially opened to the public by Shui On Group in late April.
Situated in Shanghai’s Qingpu district, Panlong Tiandi is one of the first suburban village renovation projects opened in the city.
By introducing an urban retreat concept encompassing culture, nature and the future, Panlong Tiandi, Xintiandi’s rural reinterpretation, integrates its cultural heritage with arts, leisure and entertainment facilities, presenting a new lifestyle for residents in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region.
Within a total floor area of more than 500,000m2, Panlong Tiandi introduces 230,000m2 of public green space, which includes six themed areas, a three-kilometre circular trail, as well as about 10,000m2 of outdoor sports venues.
BAILIAN ZX
Officially known as Bailian ZX creative centre, the mall is situated along the city’s iconic Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and completed its renovation before transforming into a shopping mall focused on the culture of animation, comic, game and novel, or ACGN, in January.
Using Z of Generation Z in its name, the shopping centre has introduced abundant first stores and flagship stores related to the ACGN concept, including the first overseas store of Tamashii Nations, the first MegaHouse store in China and Shanghai’s first Bandai VR zone experience store, among others, according to a Shanghai Observer report.
XINTIANDI STYLE II
After innovations and upgrades, Xintiandi Style II was reopened in January at the city’s landmark Xintiandi venue, which literally means new heaven and earth in Chinese.
Focused on young and dynamic retail styles, half of the mall is packed with flagship stores and newly set up stores of different levels. The shopping centre nearly doubled its brands from the previous 105 to 200 by January to offer consumers more personalised options.
On the back of Shanghai’s goal of building itself into a global fashion hub, 51 per cent of the mall’s space by January was used for the concept of ‘Created in China’, which serves to incubate and support Chinese designs and brands.
TIAN AN 1000 TREES
Created by British designer and architect Thomas Heatherwick, the project is known as a reminder of the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Situated along the city’s Suzhou Creek, the project takes the form of two tree-covered mountains featuring some 1,000 structural columns and more than 70 plant species. Each of the columns holds a cluster of trees on top, and the automated watering system installed will ensure the trees grow, according to publicly available information.
