THE NEW STORY 新篇

Shanghai is a big place. It is currently one of the most populated cities on Earth. More than 24 million people live here – and that figure is growing, fast. But, as is the case in a lot of big cities, Shanghai's huge population doesn't automatically translate into a wealth of social interaction. Urbanists have come to learn that the size, framework and design of a city can only contribute so much to its soul: it is now, and always has been, in the hands of those who dwell within a city that really make it what it is.

Looking to illuminate the social possibilities stored within some of China's largest and most influential cities is China Xintiandi, an investor, operator and manager of premium commercial districts across China, always with a focus on the importance of social interaction . So far XINTIANDI has developed leafy, vibrant communities and commercially thriving districts in some of China's key cities, including Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing and Foshan. In the beating heart of downtown Shanghailies its flagship project: Shanghai XINTIANDI, a pioneering feat of design that seeks to maintain the historic beauty and culture of the area while simultaneously providing Shanghai residents the opportunity to visit an area of the city in which relationships and meaningful social interactionare its primary raison d'être.

上海很大 。它是目前世界上人口最為稠密的城市之一。逾2400萬人生活在這里，并且這個數(shù)字仍在日漸攀升。然而，與許多其他大城市一樣，上海的高密度人口并未能自然地為其帶來肥沃的社交土壤。城市規(guī)劃者們開始逐漸意識到一座城市的規(guī)模、架構(gòu)與設(shè)計只能粗略勾勒出它的輪廓：成就了它靈魂的，一直，也始終是棲居在這座城市中的人。

作為中國高端商業(yè)地產(chǎn)的投資者、運營者及管理者中國新天地始終關(guān)注人與人的連結(jié)互動，并試圖用這一理念解鎖和激發(fā)那些極具影響力的大型城市中社交發(fā)展的無限可能。迄今為止，中國新天地在上海、武漢、重慶和佛山等多個中國主要城市擁有優(yōu)質(zhì)資產(chǎn)，并發(fā)展出各具特色的活力社區(qū)及繁榮興盛的商業(yè)區(qū)塊。坐落于上海市中心的上海新天地是中國新天地的旗艦項目，它以先鋒的設(shè)計筆觸，獨辟蹊徑地保護(hù)與探索地區(qū)歷史文化之美，使上海居民得以在這城市的一角相遇、成長、并建立富有意義的社交聯(lián)系。這正是新天地存在的首要意義。

A New Social Destination

Shanghai XINTIANDI was developed in the early 21st century in order to challenge the city's standard consumer experience. Until then, Shanghai's consumer offer was limited. But here was a new multifunctional eating, drinking and shopping destination that became home to an exceptionally well-selected array of businesses of varying sizes. The area in which Shanghai XINTIANDI is situated is famous for being the site of the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China and now takes its place in Shanghai's history as a spectacular social destination.

Shanghai XINTIANDI has been slowly evolving for years, and recently it has under-gone a significant redesign. Now the project is embarking on a new social strategy. At the helm of the project is China Xintiandi's Vice Chairman, Stephanie Lo, who has spent a large part of her life immersed in the concept, growth and development of the project. She led the brand's recent redesign, and she's now creating a new future for China's social development.

The Importance of Life Experience

“XINTIANDI is very focused on providing people with basic amenities: what you wear, what you eat and where you eat,” says Stephanie. “There are a lot of studies that show how the future of the leisure experience is booming and there are a lot of people out there willing to spend their money not necessarily on material things, but on enjoying life via experiences. That's where XINTIANDI can fit in.” The XINTIANDI rebrand is centred on a powerful new slogan: “Social Renaissance.” This tagline will underpin all that the brand does and will help revive the disappearing art of social interaction in real life.

To prove their dedication to this concept, nestled within Shanghai XINTIANDI is Social House: a new kind of retail space in which a selection of activities such as cooking classes, yoga sessions and other communal activities take place.

Mixing Old with New

In a city like Shanghai, which experiences speedy redevelopment, what sets Shanghai XINTIANDI apart from other areas is its celebration of the city's historic buildings. It is one of the only locations in Shanghai in which you can wander down small, winding streets of preserved early 20th-century Shikumen-style architecture. As well as being renowned for their iconic stonework, Shikumen housing areas were known for creatinga very strong sense of local community. XINTIANDI chose to enlist award-winning architect Ben Wood to celebrate the buildings' style and history and retain their original fa?ades. It has given the area a unique and unrivalled atmosphere inspired by the community of the past and the future.

Even though the area is no longer entirely residential, the people-driven concept of XINTIANDI is the driving force behind everything the brand does. Stephanie believes that if you provide a well-designed bolthole in a big city and fill it with just the right kinds of restaurants, boutiques, public spaces and picturesque greenery, it will create a meeting ground that encourages people to get out of their apartment blocks and hang out together. For a city like Shanghai, this is revolutionary.

“A lot of companies have tried to imitate what we are doing, but they tend to make the mistake of thinking it's all about the hardware, when it's actually about the people and the curation of what's on offer,” Stephanie says. “The architecture is very easy to copy, but the ambience, less so. The difference with XINTIANDI is that we are concentrating on the heart and soul of the place, rather than just the bones.”

How to be Well

So how does a company go about making a place where humans want to gather, relax and – most importantly – communicate with others? Walking through the jam-packed, traffic-filled streets of Shanghai can be overwhelming. Al fresco dining is hard to come by, and communal spaces are few and far between. However, take a stroll through the leafy, shaded streets of Shanghai XINTIANDI and you'll have the sensation of walking through sun-dappled Paris on a spring afternoon.

The calm atmosphere of the area is crucial to Stephanie's vision as she understands the importance of the ever-popular concept of Wellness, particularly to the young people she wants to encourage to come and experience the space. “Young people's social expectations are very different from ours, so we are thinking about alternative ways to communicate with them,” says Stephanie. “Part of that is about engaging them in various types of activities as opposed to just dining experiences, which is what XINTIANDI was previously more known for.”

Something else that XINTIANDI prides itself on is its passion for celebrating the Chinese creative scene and making sure that the world appreciates China's ever-changing position on the stage of global culture. By co-hosting significant events such as Shanghai Fashion Week and hosting events such as XINTIANDI Festival, Tiandi Restaurant Week, Tiandi World Music Festival and the astonishing Lumiéres Shanghai, the team at XINTIANDI are doing what they can to highlight the country's phenomenal creative output. “We'd really like XINTIANDI to be a platform for a lot more Chinese voices coming to the forefront of world culture and become a platform where other Chinese brands can be celebrated and encouraged,”Stephanie says. “We're really excited to be part of that conversation.”

The future of XINTIANDI seems bright. The organisation's reputation for transforming China's most exciting cities has led to untold amounts of change in the cultural sector. And it has successfully created environments in which culture can thrive, relation-ships can be made, and the best things in life – food, drink, people and creativity – can be respected and championed.

“On a very basic level XINTIANDI is about celebrating the connections that you make with people,” says Stephanie. “Every time you go to a new city you want to figure out what's local, fresh, unique, but it's the people that really make it come to life. We want to make sure that we focus on that, as opposed to just building the hardware. Connections between people are really what makes a district or city or place come alive. We choose to celebrate that.”

“Connections between people are really what makes a district or city or place come alive, so we want to celebrate that.

人群的連結(jié)是真正讓空間和城市鮮活起來的靈魂所在，這也正是我們所堅持的信念?！?/p>

全新的社交地標(biāo)

時間回溯至21世紀(jì)初，上海的物質(zhì)消費選擇還比較單一，上海新天地的開發(fā)旨在挑戰(zhàn)當(dāng)時城市千篇一律的消費體驗。忽而，一個匯集餐飲、購物的多功能綜合商業(yè)地標(biāo)應(yīng)運而生，創(chuàng)新的城市會客廳定位首次改寫了石庫門里弄的居住功能，一眾精心挑選、業(yè)態(tài)多元的國內(nèi)外優(yōu)質(zhì)品牌紛紛入駐。上海新天地所在的位置以中國共產(chǎn)黨第一次全國代表大會舊址而聞名，如今，它以其獨特的社交目的地定位重塑了其在上海歷史上的位置。

上海新天地多年來被不斷地打磨與雕琢，近期更是作為范本經(jīng)歷著一場意義非凡的革新—一個以全新社交策略開啟的時代已然到來。這場革新的掌舵人正是中國新天地副主席Stephanie Lo羅寶瑜，她投身于構(gòu)思、規(guī)劃和推動新天地的再升級。在引領(lǐng)品牌迭代的同時，她更著眼于描繪中國社交發(fā)展的未來。

生活體驗的重要性

“中國新天地一直以來非常注重人們最根本的滿足感：穿什么、吃什么、去哪里吃，”Stephanie如是說道，“但很多的研究都表明體驗式休閑在未來的發(fā)展?jié)摿薮?，越來越多的人更樂意在體驗、享受生活上消費，而不是拘泥于物質(zhì)層面，這與新天地的未來發(fā)展方向不謀而和?！毙绿斓氐钠放频鷩@著一個強(qiáng)而有力的主旨口號—回歸社交本真。這一信條將為新天地的未來發(fā)展奠定主基調(diào)，并將再次喚醒和重聚那些現(xiàn)實生活中日漸式微的社交連結(jié)。作為這一全新發(fā)展策略的重要實踐，上海新天地不日即將揭幕復(fù)合型新零售社交空間Social House by XINTIANDI：除了精心陳列品類豐富的零售商品，這里還將發(fā)起一系列如烹飪、瑜伽、講座等特別企劃的社群活動。

以舊“煥”新

在上海這樣日新月異的城市，上海新天地的獨特性體現(xiàn)在它對歷史建筑的獻(xiàn)禮。信步在20世紀(jì)初所建的石庫門建筑群的曲折小徑中，這種機(jī)會在上海已少有。除了它標(biāo)志性的石雕風(fēng)格，石庫門也以創(chuàng)造濃郁本土社群氛圍而著稱。新天地選擇了與屢獲殊榮的建筑設(shè)計師Ben Wood合作，一同更新建筑的風(fēng)貌與歷史并留存它們原始的設(shè)計精髓。整片社區(qū)呈現(xiàn)出一種無可比擬的開放氛圍，同時從過去與未來的社群生活中汲取靈光。

即便這個區(qū)域已經(jīng)不再完全用于居住，但以人為本的宗旨仍驅(qū)動著整個品牌的一舉一動。Stephanie堅信如果大城市中能有一處悉心設(shè)計的棲身之地，配以氛圍得當(dāng)?shù)牟蛷d、精品店、公共空間和別致的綠化景觀，它會吸引著、鼓勵人們走出緊閉的寓所并和他人一同共享時光。對于上海這樣的城市來說，意義非凡。

“許多公司嘗試效仿我們，但他們往往會陷入誤區(qū)，認(rèn)為一切都與硬件條件有關(guān)，但其實所有都是圍繞著人以及為他們提供何種服務(wù)的思考，”Stephanie說道，“建筑可以很容易被復(fù)制，但是整體氛圍沒那么簡單。新天地的特別之處體現(xiàn)在我們注重塑造空間的‘內(nèi)在靈魂’，而不僅僅是‘外形’?！?/p>

“品質(zhì)”之道

如何真正做到使一個場所吸引人們前來相聚、放松—更為重要的—與他人產(chǎn)生交流呢？穿梭在熙熙攘攘的上海街頭，人難免會感覺透不過氣，難得能遇上戶外用餐的好天氣，公共空間少見又相隔甚遠(yuǎn)。然而，在樹影斑駁的上海新天地閑庭信步一番，有種在春日午后漫步在巴黎天光云影下的錯覺。

整個區(qū)域所散發(fā)出的從容之氣是Stephanie在新天地愿景中的重要組成部分。她深知“品質(zhì)生活”的概念正日益深入人心，對未來的年輕客群而言尤為如此?！澳贻p一代對社交的預(yù)期與當(dāng)前的主流社會存在很大差異，所以新天地試圖通過各種方式與他們溝通聚合，”Stephanie說道，“希望他們能參與到我們形式多樣的活動中來，而不僅是在新天地享受美食，雖然這是新天地此前更為人熟知的一面?！?/p>

新天地另一個引以為傲之處是其不遺余力為中國創(chuàng)造、中國在全球文化舞臺上的角色蛻變所付出的努力。通過聯(lián)合舉辦上海時裝周在內(nèi)的重量級盛事、主辦如表演藝術(shù)新天地、天地餐廳周、天地世界音樂節(jié)以及光影上海等面向公眾的藝術(shù)文化活動，新天地向公眾呈現(xiàn)本土不斷崛起的創(chuàng)意文化力量。“我們希望新天地可以成為許多本地藝術(shù)文化人才走向世界前沿舞臺的平臺，中國品牌亦可以在這個平臺上收獲肯定與發(fā)展，” Stephanie補(bǔ)充道，“很高興我們能為文化交流的發(fā)展助力?！?/p>

新天地的未來已經(jīng)啟幕，這些年來它對這些中國重要城市的悄然改變，不僅收獲了社會各界的贊譽(yù)更影響著在地的文化創(chuàng)意產(chǎn)業(yè)。新天地成功地塑造了這樣一個社區(qū)：文化發(fā)展充滿活力、社群彼此連結(jié)、人們相聚分享美食，所有的美好都受到尊重與鼓勵。

“總的來說，我們希望人們能在新天地實現(xiàn)彼此之間的真誠連結(jié)?！盨tephanie說，“每到新的城市，我們都想去發(fā)掘一些本土的、新鮮獨特的事物，體會人群關(guān)系帶來的別樣風(fēng)景，未來新天地將在兼顧“形”的同時一如既往地關(guān)注社群發(fā)展。人群的連結(jié)是真正讓空間和城市鮮活起來的靈魂所在，這也正是我們所堅持的信念?！?/p>