Guangzhou Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street will be transformed, can it get rid of the status quo of "the old Guangzhou does not go, tourists are disgusted"?

Reporter | Wu Rong

Edit | Zan Huifang

Following Beijing Road, Guangzhou Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street will also usher in upgrading.

On October 29, Guangzhou Public Resources Exchange Center issued the "Brief Announcement on the Supervision of the Quality Improvement Project of Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street" and the "Brief Announcement of the General Contracting of the Survey, Design and Construction of the Quality Improvement Project of Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street".

According to the above documents, the Guangzhou Liwan District Urban Renewal Construction Project Management Center opened a tender for the quality improvement project of Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, which mainly includes the improvement of the building façade of Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, road transformation, Shangxiajiu Square, archway promotion, lighting improvement, urban furniture, intelligent identification system, digital culture upgrade, landscape greening improvement, three-line improvement, etc., to improve the coordination and characteristic block style of Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street. The total estimated investment of the project is 152.8702 million yuan, and the total construction period of the project is 235 days.

Located in the center of Guangzhou Liwan Xiguan Historical District, Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is 1237 meters long, and the landmark building is the traditional Xiguan Arcade, which brings together commercial shops such as department stores and well-known restaurants in Guangzhou, and was once the most prosperous commercial center in Guangzhou.

In the article on the reconstruction of Beijing Road in Guangzhou, we discussed that online shopping has brought an impact on physical commercial streets, Guangzhou's urban planning has developed to the east, coupled with the rise of commercial circles such as Tianhe Road, young passenger flows have been taken away, and like Beijing Road, Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street has long lost its former commercial status.

Compared with Beijing Road, its condition may be more miserable, and the aging of the neighborhood and the low-end business format have become its increasingly prominent problems. Souvenir souvenir shops, snack bars, high-quality clothing and leather bag shops, sports brands that are often discounted, and various scattered small shops for tourists make up the street's current commercial ecology; the flow of customers is sparse, mainly students, migrant workers, tourists, etc.

At the same time, due to the distance from the Huangsha and Changshou Road subway stations, the power of the subway diversion capacity is insufficient, and the Hualin Temple Station in the northern extension of Metro Line 8, which is only 300 meters away from the Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, is still under construction. In addition, due to the lack of parking lots near the pedestrian street, there are car owners who are reluctant to go because of parking difficulties.

In the face of the pain points of the aging of these neighborhoods, the "Implementation Plan for The Construction of An International Consumption Center City in Guangzhou (2020-2022)" in May 2020 proposes to upgrade and build areas such as "Beijing Road Commercial Circle", "Shangxiajiu Commercial Circle" and "Huanshi East Commercial Circle" in the old city. In August this year, the Guangzhou Liwan District Development and Reform Bureau replied to the reply to the feasibility study report of the Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street Quality Improvement Project and agreed to carry out the construction of the project.

According to the latest tender documents released on October 29, the renovation project will take respect for the historical environment of the historical and cultural district as the starting point, follow the working principles of "overall planning, should be guaranteed", "rational use, inheritance and development", "fine design, gradual renewal" and other work principles, on the basis of the protection and utilization of immovable cultural relics such as cultural relics and historical buildings, show the modern commercial format, and intend to focus on industrial revitalization projects in the historical areas such as London, Shanghai and Nanjing.

"Good shopping" is an evaluation of the current young generation of commercial blocks, which need to have enough brands to attract them to buy, such as fast fashion, beauty or light luxury brands, etc., catering services that can sit down to eat and drink, the best environment and architectural design can also be in line with the current trend, and they value the overall experience. After the quality upgrade project, whether the Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street can change the status quo of "the old Guangzhou does not go, the passengers are disgusted" is indeed worth looking forward to.