Xingfu Li becomes a new cultural landmark in Shanghai/photo: Zhang Yichen

Xingfu Li, a small alley shorter than 200 meters and named after the adjacent Xingfu road, has become a hot spot for culture and art fans as well as fashionable people in recent years. This new cultural landmark in Shanghai, formerly an old factory area, was turned into a unique yet comprehensive industry park for innovation business offices, cultural and art products display, as well as recreation a few years ago.

“I prefer to put culture venues in a prime location in a commercial area and put human interaction first—short-term profitability is not the concern of modern brick-and-mortar businesses,” said Huang Quan, General Manager and Design Director of G-Art Design International, who believes that the focus on customers’ longer stay, as well as the interactive commercial experience, is the biggest reason behind the rising popularity of Xingfu Li and the secret to the renaissance of Shanghai’s historic neighborhoods.

The birth of Xingfu Li was unexpected

Located at No.381 Panyu Road, Xinfu Li was built between the 1960s and 1970s and was the former home of the Shanghai Institute of Rubber Products. Then, the two ends of Xinfu Li were sealed by closed iron gates and were inaccessible to nearby residents.

Huang Quan, a young man who was looking for an office for his design company was led to this place. He fell in love with it at first sight. The space occupied by Xingfu Li, however, was too big for his company, which only needed one-tenth of the space. Huang Quan then explored around Xingfu Li and found that the area around Panyu Road and Xinhua Road was lacking an open and public place for people to get together and interact with each other, despite the good neighborhoods and business environment.

An idea to break the closed structure and create a brand-new open public place incorporating the concepts of art, fashion and cultural innovation was born. In 2015, the newly renovated Xingfu Li was opened to the public and attracted a lot of citizens to hang out there on the weekends and also shop. Xingfu Li soon went viral among the public.

NICE TO MEET YOU: the commercial soul of the place

The shop NICE TO MEET YOU, which was introduced by Huang Quan into Xingfu Li and located at the prime location of this pedestrian street, is an experience space for books, fashion, coffee and art exhibitions and has become the most popular spot in Xingfu Li.

The shop, however, has suffered a yearly financial loss of 3 million yuan due to the high cost of rent. “For designers, a successful piece of artwork is far more important than making money. The shop is the parlor of Xingfu Li and the commercial soul of this place,” said Huang Quan with pride. The financial returns are not high compared to traditional commercial models, but Huang Quan believes this type of interactive commercial experience is the future of commercial blocks. Public participation and interactive experience is always prioritized over simple transactions and sales revenues in Xingfu Li.

Haipai (Shanghai’s unique “East Meets West" culture) culture is the source of inspiration

Huang Quan was born in the 1980s and graduated at Donghua University. His designs have won him many prizes and in recent years he has become well-known to the public because of the spaces he designed for such hot TV dramas as Ode To Joy and The First Half of My Life. Having lived in Shanghai for nearly 20 years, Huang Quan feels most impressed by Shanghai’s Haipai culture—a fusion of innovation and tradition, which is also the biggest feature of his designs.

Huang Quan believes that buildings are the spiritual symbol of a city and the most attractive is the spirit of the humanities lying behind the various architectural forms of buildings. By renovating these old neighborhoods and blocks, Huang Quan strives to connect music, art and culture with the daily life of the locals as much as he can, while keeping the spiritual symbol of the city.