Since the beginning of this year, Changning District has deeply explored the rich historical heritage and unique resource endowment of the Yuyuan Road block, focusing on expanding new fashion consumption scenarios, focusing on the first-launch economy and youth economy, actively creating specialty markets, introducing brand pop-up events, and other diversified formats, continuously building high-quality platforms for incubation and growth of startup brands, helping local brands accelerate their development. A series of vibrant and vibrant achievements have been successively implemented in this century-old street.

Connected through a pop-up at the "Story Store."

Young Entrepreneurs' Dreams Bear Fruit on Yuyuan Road 

On 1227 Yuyuan Road, a new store called "Picnic" recently opened.The artistic walls inside the store have textured textures, and the tables and dressing mirrors transformed from old door panels are unique and practical, while the stained glass windows have been cleverly transformed to add visual transparency. The entire space is filled with handmade warmth, adding a vibrant touch of French flair to this historic district. At night, crystal chandeliers light up, and the warm yellow light filters through the windows, attracting people strolling on summer nights.

As a lifestyle aesthetics brand, "Picnic" offers a rich product line, including French-style fashion, handmade accessories, textured items, and exclusive niche items. Among accessories, real flowers, leaves, and fruits undergo dehydration, color fixing, and resin preservation techniques to make necklaces and earrings; Handmade pieces using intangible cultural heritage raw materials such as metal hooks are intricate, time-consuming, and labor-intensive, each embodying the craftsmanship's dedication. 

Apparel includes hats and garments made using crocheting techniques, continuing the French style. Vintage jewelry, tableware, picnic mats, and other lifestyle products collectively create a warm and relaxed home atmosphere. A selection of vintage ornaments, porcelain, and artworks collected from abroad are also carefully displayed. The wide price range caters to a broader range of consumers who appreciate the beauty of life.

Owner of the shop Huihui explained that in March of this year, she participated in a "Story Shop" pop-up event, which made her deeply appreciate the charm of offline spaces connecting with consumers in a warm and profound way, which strengthened her determination to open a physical store.After more than three months of searching and waiting, by chance, she came across a transfer notice for a shop along Yuyuan Road on her WeChat Moments—a small shop that used to be a flower shop. She signed the leasing contract in just two days, starting this "sudden" but passionate entrepreneurial journey.

Since its soft opening on June 26, customers have generally given positive feedback that the store environment is "very beautiful" and "very comfortable," and they are willing to stay for a long time."Except for Wednesdays when we are closed, the store is currently open from 2 pm to 10 pm every day. It is jointly operated by me, my partner, and the brand team. We hope that customers can make French relaxation a part of their daily romance," Huihui explained. She has also registered the business in Changning. For her, this store is not only a sales space, but also a place to directly interact with customers and deeply tell the brand story and philosophy. "We are considering commercializing picnic baskets, plates, and other display items, and developing more peripheral products closely related to the picnic concept."

Changning local brands explore a new chapter

Starting with the "Yuyuan New Market"

Meanwhile, at Lane 1112 of Yuyuan Road, "ByRoots", an Eastern philosophical healing brand founded three years ago in Changning District, has also completed a key step in its offline exploration. The brand's first offline pop-up store officially opened on June 25th and will remain open until September 15th, creating a rare "spiritual haven" in the bustling city. Stepping into this 10-square-meter "tree hole," the solid wood decorations and custom-made furniture create a simple and natural, slow-paced atmosphere. A carefully designed "tree hole telephone" installation attracts customer interaction, allowing them to leave video messages and share their thoughts.

"ByRoots" is committed to inheriting the wisdom of intangible cultural heritage spanning thousands of years. Starting from natural herbs, the brand conveys the concept of embracing nature and enabling healing through natural herbal and jade products. The store features a selection of products from various series. The core product, the "Tibetan Incense Bead Bracelet," is particularly unique. It uses a formula and craftsmanship inherited from 800 years of intangible cultural heritage. Each bead contains 36 kinds of Tibetan herbs, such as Rhodiola rosea and saffron, and takes 21 days and 12 complex processes to complete.

The product designs deeply integrate Eastern philosophical stories, such as the best-selling "Sunrise" bracelet, which uses black nightshade flowers and green agate to symbolize vitality and hope; the Five Blessings series, inspired by the "Five Blessings" concept in the Book of Documents, representing five kinds of blessings; the New Year Treasure Vase series, which has the meaning of bringing good fortune; the All Things Go Well series, which uses jade ruyi as its design; and the bracelet co-branded with the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai, which incorporates the design of a "guardian bell cat", which is cute and meaningful.

Wang Yue, founder of "ByRoots", stated that the brand has used Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Tmall as its sales platforms, and made its first offline appearance in April through the Yuyuan New Market. This first offline location on Yuyuan Road has tested the product's competitiveness in a purely offline environment and the brand management team accumulated valuable experience for future physical stores.During this period, the brand team gained new operational insights. Unlike online sales, offline stores focus more on creating an overall atmosphere and refining the details of the experience. Many customers quickly made purchases after trying on the products on-site, due to the direct tactile feel and their initial attraction. Previously, the brand's target customer group was women aged 25-45, but this time it unexpectedly attracted some male customers as well. Through this physical space, online followers gained a more concrete understanding of the brand, expanding the customer base and deepening the brand image.

Using street space as a platform

"Scenario-based Business Development" initiatives empower brands to Grow Together

On this fertile ground brimming with stories and business opportunities, a group of emerging companies and China-chic trend brands rooted in the local community and harboring dreams, such as Picnic and "ByRoots" have seen significant growth.These were made possible by continuous efforts from Changning District and its sub-districts who have been continuously optimizing the business environment with a proactive service philosophy. 

A representative from Jiangsu Road Subdistrict stated that the subdistrict has been continuously exploring a unique "scenario-based enterprise development" service model in recent years.Using Story Shop and Yuyuan New Market as distinctive platforms, it provides low-cost, close-range offline showcases for emerging brands.Girlcult, a trendy domestic cosmetics brand that joined the subdistrict last year, is a prime example of this model's success. For newly established startups, the subdistrict's business environment office proactively connects with them, assisting with basic procedures such as company registration and store sign approval, and leveraging local resources to secure more exposure opportunities for the brands. Simultaneously, relying on the technological innovation resources of "Shanghai Silicon Alley," the subdistrict is gradually exploring the application of digital tools such as AI empowerment to help resident companies improve operational efficiency and lay a solid foundation for the long-term stable development of brands.

A representative from Creator, the operator of the Yuyuan Art and Lifestyle block, and an operator of co-working spaces and creative parks explained that the "ByRoots"pop-up store is located at the former site of the "Story Shop," which once collected over 2,000 stories from ordinary people about their daily lives and anecdotes. The two sides share a common philosophy, yet both have evolved and refined. The journey of "Picnic" from its initial entrepreneurial idea to its physical opening demonstrates the successful implementation of the Story Shop's experimental approach to promoting local brands. "We sincerely hope that more like-minded brands and businesses will nurture and support each other within the neighborhood, jointly building a warm and mutually beneficial commercial ecosystem. "

As the only "fashionable consumption street cluster" in Shanghai, Changning District has taken the lead in promoting its distinctive consumption streets to the international market. Yuyuan Art and Lifestyle Block boasts a rich century-old legacy and vibrant entrepreneurship, earning numerous accolades including National-level Tourism and Leisure Street, National-level Nighttime Cultural and Tourism Consumption Cluster, and Shanghai's New Landmark for Global Product Launches. Through a dialogue between history and trend, the integration of commerce and culture, and the synergy between government services and market vitality, the street will continue to showcase its unique cultural charm and commercial value, contributing to Shanghai's development as an international consumption destination.