The first shopping mall established in Shanghai after the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC) 75 years ago has witnessed the growth of consumption levels of the Chinese people and the increasing diversification of business forms in the world's second largest economy.
Located in the city's landmark Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, the Shanghai No.1 Department Store is the first state-owned shopping center established after 1949. It used to be the first choice for older generations of people in Shanghai to buy things.
"At that time, the goods were relatively scarce. The No.1 department store was the top brand in Shanghai. Half an hour before the store opened, huge crowds of customers were already waiting outside all the entrances, all trying to be the first one in," said Shao Kaiping, 69, who used to work at the department store.
The shopping center was called "our own store" by Shanghai people in those years. With up to 35,000 categories of goods available, it was worthy of the name of "China's largest department store" at that time.
"Purchasing famous, quality and time-honored local products, as well as scarce commodities such as home appliances and bikes required ration stamps at that time. So, the No.1 Department Store, as the largest window for serving consumers, saw demand exceeding the supply," said Zhao Weigang, general manager of the store's commercial center. As the fast-growing Chinese economy drives people to seek richer consumption options and personalized products, the popular shopping center has been upgrading itself. Nowadays, it has expanded the business area to 70,000 square meters and has become a major complex for leisure and entertainment.
The century-old Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street has also been keeping up with the trend to stay competitive and unleash new potential. The more than 1,500-meter-long commercial street now gathers various emerging business forms, such as ACG (anime, comics and games)-themed shops, exhibitions and immersive performances, and is the destination for international and domestic brands to set up their first stores.
In the past 75 years, Chinese people's consumption concepts and patterns have changed a lot.
In 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods in China increased from 27.7 billion yuan (about 3.94 billion U.S. dollars) in 1952 to 47 trillion yuan (about 6.68 trillion U.S. dollars), becoming the second largest consumer market in the world.
The per capita disposable income of Chinese residents has increased by 75.8 times over 1949, and the per capita consumption expenditure has increased by 35.5 times over 1956.
Today, people don't have to rush to stores to compete for the scarce goods. They just stay at home and shop online to get products from all over the country and even the world.
In 2023, there were more than 900 million consumers shopping online in China, with more than 400 million packages handled by express delivery every day.
The country recorded a national online retail sales of 15.4 trillion yuan, ranking first in the world for 11 consecutive years.
Shanghai department store witnesses consumption upgrading in past 75 years
Some representative sites in Chinese capital Beijing have set good models of developing the practical value of ancient buildings while repairing and protecting them.
Beijing has been the capital of China for nearly 700 years, with only brief interruptions. The city has a rich architectural culture, from imperial palaces like the Forbidden City to traditional residential buildings.
China Global Television Network (CGTN) walked with national certified architect Zhang Yue presented into several remarkable cases of reusing historical structures and listened to her insights on preserving the antique architectures.
After graduating with a degree in architecture, Zhang started her career in 1999. For 25 years, Zhang has spent her regular working days on usual investigation in downtown Beijing.
Focusing on old buildings and renovated historical structures, she said the Memorial Hall of Qi Baishi's Former Residence is a typical well-done example.
The noted artist Qi Baishi died in 1957 at the age of 94. The memorial hall is a typical quadrangle residential building built in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, about 250 years ago. Located in the Yu'er Hutong in downtown Beijing, the building is not very big, but its simplicity, elegance and peace matter.
Zhang said its restoration is basically in line with the four principles proposed by the UNESCO, which is authenticity, minimal intervention, recognizability and reversibility.
"From the perspective of professionals, we hope that the issue of reuse should be considered before the restoration of ancient buildings. Such repairs could be better if there is consistency between conservation and utilization," Zhang said.
When she spoke of the difficulties during her 25 years as an architect, Zhang noted that she has covered some 5,000 kilometers on foot with her expeditionary style. She said that the more she explores, the stronger her reverence for Chinese traditional architectural culture.
"At the very beginning, my understanding of traditional architecture was only limited to the actual structures we saw. But there are many stories behind it, leaving us a great number of messages. After 20 years of working in this field, I still can't express myself easily because the mystery of traditional architecture is so deep," the architect said.
Just a 10-minute walk crossing the bustling Nanluoguxiang pedestrian street, a courtyard house called "HelloReading" is another site considered a good example of reuse after renovation.
"I think the good thing about this case is that learning knowledge of traditional culture or modern culture in such a traditional courtyard actually gives children a subtle influence," Zhang said.
Since its establishment in 2016, HelloReading has served over 1,500 families as a reading studio for children aged 15 and under. The organizers moved the studio into the popular scenic area in March 2023. They said the rent is higher than before, but it's worth it, considering the profound meaning behind reading.
"Particularly when you compare the hustle and bustle from the Nanluoguxiang street, you feel very quiet as soon as you enter the courtyard, as if you have come to another world. Many of our members and children live in apartment buildings. They say there are few other kids to play with when living in the apartment buildings. And they can hardly feel the weather changes all year round. But when they come here, they feel very down to-earth and energetic. Parents have also realized that their children are more relaxed and natural in this place," said Sarah Hu, an event organizer at HelloReading.
Restoration, reuse of ancient buildings in Beijing
