Sitting in the coffee shop in the alley, you can see the red wall and white tower when you look up, and under the reflection of the snow, the strong Beijing flavor comes to your face. If you want to "disk" the hottest Internet celebrity block in 2023, you must not be able to "bypass" the Baitasi block at the northernmost end of Beijing's Financial Street, which is also one of the most beautiful Citywalk routes in Beijing. The origin of the unexpected fire in the Baitasi neighborhood is Beijing's urban renewal. Through "micro-renovation and micro-renewal" to change the dirty and messy style, traditional culture and new forms of business are being spliced and mixed here.
As a place where residence, culture and commerce coexist, how should the Baita Temple be positioned? How can Internet celebrities become popular? What challenges will be faced in future commercial development? What actions will the entire block take in 2024? Recently, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily walked into the Baitasi neighborhood to find the answer......
The fire exceeded expectations
Baita Temple is on fire, and the degree of fire is actually a little beyond Li Ru's expectations.
Li Ru is the general manager of Beijing Huarong Jinying Investment and Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huarong Jinying"), the main body responsible for the development and operation of the Baitasi block, she told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that in the past ten years, the "regeneration" of the Baitasi block has mainly focused on the work of dredging and vacating and renewing the courtyard, and it will only start to be commercialized in 2022.
As of the press release of the Beijing Business Daily reporter, on Douyin, the number of views of topics related to "Yi Yang Qianxi Baita Temple" and "Baita Temple Photography" has reached 35,000 and 101,000 times respectively, and there are more than 40,000 notes related to "Baita Temple" on Xiaohongshu, of which the notes with more than 10,000 favorites and likes are basically recommended by the Baita Temple and the surrounding routes of Beijing Citywalk.
"When there is a lot of traffic, we can receive three or four hundred people a day. Because the store is facing the red wall of the east sandwich road of Baita Temple, Sun Hailong, the manager of Yao Coffee, can see people who come to the "Red Wall and White Tower" to check in almost every day.
The Baitasi neighborhood is one of the 43 historical and cultural protection areas in Beijing, and is also located in the old neighborhood where Beijing houses gather, and is also one of the last few remaining residential areas of low-rise buildings in the ancient capital. In 2015, Huarong Jinying, together with the designer team and the construction team, proposed and began to implement the "Baitasi Regeneration Plan", which covers a total area of 37 hectares with Zhao Dengyu Road in the east, West Second Ring Road in the west, Fuchengmen Inner Street in the south, and Shoubi Street Planning Road in the north.
Li Ru said that at present, the entire area has vacated about 1 hectare of space, but the commercial area dominated by the east and west fork commercial streets is less than 4,000 square meters. "The previous phase of evacuation and courtyard renovation work has basically come to an end, and the follow-up is mainly to develop and utilize the vacated space to achieve sustainable cultural and commercial development. ”
This is similar to Sun Hailong's observation. More than a year ago, when the Yao Coffee store first opened, there were not too many shops in the two blocks next door, but this year there are suddenly a lot more. The manager of Yu Funan, who has been opening a store in the Baitasi neighborhood for nearly seven years, also has a deep experience, "In the past two or three years, many merchants have entered, especially this year, especially coffee and craft beer. ”
Accelerated commercial development
As one of the first merchants to settle in the Baitasi block, the Yufunan Baitasi store was renovated in 2016 and officially opened in 2017. Zuo Taiming, the founder and manager of Yufunan, told a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that the most fundamental reason why the commercialization of the Baitasi block can be promoted so quickly this year should be that there are more shops in the area that can get business licenses.
Huarong Jinying also pointed out that previously, a large part of the space that had been vacated was not used, mainly because of difficulties in handling business licenses.
Zuo Taiming believes that in the renovated hutongs, it is not easy to do business. First of all, there are private and public houses in the hutongs, and the determination of property rights is relatively complicated, and secondly, the fire protection problem will limit some businesses, especially restaurants. Affected by these two points, it is difficult for many shops to obtain business licenses. "We were able to move in and operate normally because we had been running a restaurant before the original location. Since the beginning of this year, more and more brands have come in, indicating that regional policies are also constantly adjusting. ”
The relevant staff of Huarong Jinying told a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that on August 11 this year, 68 of the vacated assets submitted by the company had obtained industrial and commercial business licenses, 28 had obtained catering licenses, and 2 had accommodation licenses. "Part of the East and West Fork Hutong and Fuchengmen Neibei Street has been rented out, and many businesses are renovating, but they have not officially opened yet. ”
The back garden of Financial Street
The Baitasi block and the financial street are located on both sides of the inner street of Fuchengmen, only one street apart. However, the fragmented old city texture of the Baitasi neighborhood contrasts sharply with the neat office buildings of Financial Street. "Before the development, there were many 'old and dilapidated' houses in the Baitasi neighborhood, and the local residents' living environment was not good, traffic congestion, and public space was cramped, so we wanted to improve the living conditions of the original residents by evacuating and vacating them. At the same time, the surrounding environment and commercial formats will be renovated to provide a place for leisure consumption for the financial street with limited supporting space. Li Ru said.
According to public information, there are 64 key commercial buildings in the core block of Financial Street in Xicheng District, Beijing, with 1,886 financial institutions, 885 legal entities and 175 headquarters-type institutions. According to statistics, the financial street contributes nearly 40% of the added value of the city's financial industry with 0.02% of the area of Beijing.
"Whether there is such a wind as Citywalk, the White Pagoda Temple should be on fire, it's just a matter of sooner or later. The 'Red Wall and White Tower' is a strong landmark that is not found in many hutong groups, and it is easy to remember. In addition, a stable financial street customer base is actually an important source for many businesses. Zuo Taiming said.
According to Zuo Taiming and store manager Sam, the daily passenger flow of Yufunan accounts for at least 60% of the people from the financial street, and the financial street passenger flow of Youhang fresh beer accounts for about 70%-80% of the total passenger flow.
I don't want to be "a certain street" or "a certain alley"
As the main commercial street of Baitasi block, the east and west fork alley is actually not long, go in from the east fork alley at the entrance of the palace to the end, and then turn into the west fork alley and return, walk a round trip, walk about 600 meters. Li Ru believes that this is a great advantage, which can ensure that each business "looks" differently as much as possible in a limited space. "Distinctive, 'small but beautiful' shops are welcome to us. ”
However, judging from the existing layout, the new merchants are basically selling coffee and craft brewing. Regarding the issue of commercial homogenization, Huarong Jinying said that it has restricted the products from being craft beer or coffee brands to enter the block, and the investment target at this stage is to build a construction area of less than 60 square meters, mainly special drinks, and more than 60 square meters to focus on special dishes. "In the later stage, cultural and creative areas will also focus on development, including promoting the construction of public libraries in the region. Li Ru introduced.
Lai Yang, executive vice president of the Beijing Business Economics Association, said that in recent years, many hutongs in Beijing have become more and more popular, and various cultural and commercial ecosystems have also prospered. This is inseparable from the continuous promotion of the protection and renewal of the old city of Beijing, from stipulating that it can no longer be demolished, to promoting the use of the old city of Beijing in the protection and the protection of the use through the construction of public space and strict control of the urban landscape. "However, with the development of renewal and transformation to a deeper level, there will also be many common problems, including the loss of the original regional characteristics, the homogenization of business formats and so on. The key to avoiding alienation is not to attract tourists, but to be recognized and loved by the locals. Lai Yang, executive vice president of the Beijing Business Economics Association, said.
"The Baitasi neighborhood is not meant to be the next 'certain street' or 'certain alley'. The renovation of the Baitasi neighborhood is not for tourists, nor is it for self-entertainment. How to provide better services to local residents and people in the financial street, and how to sustainably operate the residential, cultural and commercial ecology of the entire area are the focus of Baitasi's 'regeneration'. Li Ru said.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Fang Binnan Cheng Liang