On October 4th, Kuanzhai Alley was crowded. The bright national flags on both sides of the streets and alleys are bright and dazzling, and there is a long queue in front of the local cultural and creative innovation market, and in front of the interactive installation of "Shine China with One Heart, Family and Country at this time", there is an endless stream of people checking in and taking pictures. As a popular scenic spot in Chengdu, Kuanzhai Alley is full of passengers. According to statistics, Kuanzhai Alley received more than 620,000 visitors in the first three days of the National Day.
With a history of more than 300 years, the wide and narrow alleys are the roots and cultural symbols of Chengdu. In Kuanzhai Alley, people can not only feel the profound cultural heritage, but also intuitively experience the steaming fireworks of old Chengdu, which bears the imprint of history and is constantly endowed with new significance.
On the first day of the National Day holiday, the wide and narrow alleys were full of people, and the characteristic cultural tourism consumption scene attracted many tourists to experience. Mr. Yao, who came to Chengdu from Nanjing, chose his "first stop" in Chengdu in Kuanzhai Alley. "When I go to Chengdu in the afternoon, I come to visit Kuanzhai in the evening." Mr. Yao said that he has actually been to Kuanzhai a few times, but every time he comes to Chengdu, he still wants to come and visit. "I am a lover of 'ancient architecture', and I can observe the different blends of ancient architecture and modernity in the wide and narrow alleys, which is very characteristic of Chengdu." Mr. Yao said that every time he came, he made new discoveries. "I used to think that sitting in the courtyard of the wide and narrow alleys and drinking a cup of gaiwan tea would be very Chengdu. This time, I spent a lot of time buying souvenirs at MAOin. The "cat" is wide and narrow, conveying the favorite leisure life of pandas and Chengdu people, and infecting every foreign tourist who yearns for life in Chengdu.
"If you don't go to Kuanzhai Alley, you have never been to Chengdu", like Mr. Yao, I like Kuanzhai Alley, and there are many tourists who come here. As an important cultural business card of Chengdu, it is like a "living" history, telling people the most authentic Chengdu life.
"Let the historic district be reintegrated into urban life through conservation and rejuvenation", and the protective renovation project of Kuanzhai Alley came into being under this historical mission.
In 2003, the main renovation project of the historical and cultural area of Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu was launched, and on the basis of protecting the original buildings of old Chengdu, a composite cultural commercial street with distinctive regional characteristics and a strong Tianfu cultural atmosphere was formed, focusing on tourism and leisure. In 2008, the newly renovated Kuanzhai Alley was officially opened.
As the operator, Chengdu Cultural Tourism Group invited experts in Chengdu's history, culture, folk customs, art and other aspects to jointly sort out the core content of the cultural spirit of Kuanzhai Alley, and take the "Chengdu Life Spirit" as a clue to explore the operation mode of the successful combination of historical and cultural block protection and cultural tourism commercial development, and build Kuanzhai Alley into an "old Chengdu negative, new urban living room". According to the relevant person in charge of Chengdu Kuanzhai Cultural and Creative Industry Investment Group Co., Ltd., through the Kuanzhai Alley, the urban temperament of the city's traditional and modern, retro and fashion, elegance and vitality is blended, and finally the Kuanzhai Alley has been upgraded from the "urban living room" that shows the humanistic features of Chengdu to the "spiritual home" that triggers the pulse of Chengdu people's hearts, and conveys the spiritual outlook of "the most Chengdu" to the world. The important label of "Kuanzhai Alley is the most Chengdu" attracts many businesses and tourists.
Wang Xiaoqing, the manager of Rong Jinhui, is one of them. In 2023, Wang Xiaoqing and his partners will prepare a new brand of Sichuan cuisine, Rong Jinhui, to settle in Kuanzhai Alley. This is also her return to Kuanzhai again after 6 years of absence. "Kuanzhai Alley has a profound cultural heritage and unique charm. For this historic neighborhood, it has many labels, such as City Lounge, 'Most Chengdu', etc. These labels not only provide us with a rich cultural background, but also help us find our niche more quickly when choosing to settle in. ”
"Push open the door of width and narrowness, and walk towards the glory of the world", the collision of local culture and modern technology is also full of sparks. In May 2024, China's Chengdu Glory opened the world's first flagship store in Kuanzhai Alley, a modern technology brand that is presented to people in a new form of symbiosis between the old and the new, and the integration of the ancient and the modern. The century-old cultural heritage of Kuanzhai Alley provides an innovative soil for the integration of science and technology and culture, and the settlement of Glory in Kuanzhai Alley also brings a new wind of science and technology to the ancient courtyard.
The living room of the city is also the living room of culture. As a recognized cultural landmark in Chengdu, Kuanzhai Alley not only has the most soothing market fireworks, but also introduces many independent bookstores, cafes and other cultural and creative brands with a diverse and inclusive attitude, reshaping the city's spiritual space with a highly innovative operation concept and comforting every traveler in a hurry.
Located in Kuanzhai Alley, Sanlian Taofen Bookstore was the first branch to open outside of Beijing. Cheng Anbang, a staff member of the Kuanzhai store of Sanlian Taofen Bookstore, said that Kuanzhai Alley provides a series of preferential measures and support for cultural spaces. "Including co-organizing landing activities and brand promotion. These initiatives not only promote cooperation between the two sides, but also provide a richer and more diverse cultural experience for tourists and residents. ”
Ms. Wu, a "native" of Chengdu, still vividly remembers the pomp and circumstance of her first cultural event in Kuanzhai Alley. "It was in 2011 at Jianshan Bookstore, when there were still few bookstores in Kuanzhai Alley. Writers and scholars come here to hold sharing sessions, and each event attracts many literature lovers and citizens to participate, and the courtyard is always full. Ms. Wu said.
Today, Kuanzhai Alley has successfully constructed a vibrant cultural space. Whether it is a calligraphy and painting exhibition, a handicraft display or a small concert, Kuanzhai Alley can always provide citizens and tourists with a rich and diverse cultural experience.
During the holiday, the colorful characteristic theme consumption scenes attract a large number of tourists to come to Kuanzhai Alley, and the continuous improvement of the commercial ecology makes tourists linger.
In the eyes of Song Zhenye, the person in charge of the operation of China's Li Ning Kuanzhai Store, Kuanzhai Alley is not only a cultural business card of Chengdu, but also a cultural tourism project with great commercial attraction. "It can be seen from the holidays in the past few days that there is a very high passenger flow here, and this huge customer flow base provides a broad market space for the settled merchants. For Li Ning in China, Kuanzhai Alley is not only an ideal location, but also an important window to publicize and express the brand concept to the outside world. ”
In the just-opened "Tianfu Dewu × Yaohua 1938", the upstairs and downstairs are crowded with tourists, who choose souvenirs with a "Chengdu flavor". According to the relevant person in charge, the store is a joint store created by Chengdu Kuanzhai Cultural and Creative Industry Investment Group Co., Ltd. with the "Tianfu Dewu" brand as the starting point and the Chengdu time-honored brand "Yaohua".
From China's Li Ning concept store to HONOR's Chengdu flagship store, to the new experience brought by "Tianfu Dewu × Yew Wah 1938", today, Kuanzhai Alley is not only an innovation in business formats, but more importantly, it shows the spirit of how a long-established neighborhood actively embraces changes and meets challenges. This is not only a respect for tradition, but also a demonstration of the responsibility and mission of Chengdu Cultural Tourism Group in incubating new IP and driving new consumption. The relevant person in charge of Chengdu Kuanzhai Cultural and Creative Industry Investment Group Co., Ltd. said that in the future, it will uphold the concept of "tradition into the marrow and fashion into the bones", focus on restoring the cultural memory of old Chengdu, and make a full article on "culture + creativity + experience". "In the future, we want to make a borderless wide and narrow alley old city tourist area, in fact, we are already driving the surrounding streets and alleys. For example, such as Xiaotong Alley, Kuixing Tower, and Paulownia Street, all the capillaries of these wide and narrow alleys have developed, and the residents of Shaocheng are willing to develop together and become more and more revived. This is also the reason why Kuanzhai Alley has always adhered to the concept of opening and closing, and benefiting the people with multiple symbiosis, so that all stakeholders, like-minded people, and co-guardians inside and outside the block can become 'block partners'. ”
It is worth noting that this year, the second phase of the Kuanzhai Alley project officially started. The second phase of Kuanzhai will further strengthen the functional positioning of the "city living room", complement and complement each other with the historical and cultural block of Kuanzhai Alley, take culture as the guide throughout, emphasize the "four-state integration" of culture, format, form and ecology, and organically symbiosis, create an aesthetic scene of humanistic life in a park city, establish a new model of cultural industry and commercial consumption, and strive to build a world-class urban cultural tourism landmark that highlights the charm of Chinese civilization and the cultural characteristics of Tianfu.