Every City Should Have a Jinshan Yiku
A city is a composite text of aesthetics and culture, a multifaceted prism of historical memory.
When we see this city, it has already become what it is today, accumulating many layers of history.
Chongqing does not manifest as monotonous skyscrapers but rather as historic buildings from various eras, each with its own unique style. These buildings record the changes of the times, embody regional cultural characteristics, and are filled with diverse architectural wisdom. With the addition of elements of modern aesthetics, fashionable lifestyles, and trendy culture, these buildings form the cultural landmarks and aesthetic symbols of a region or even a city.
Just like China Merchants Shekou · Jinshan Yiku.
As the core carrier for Chongqing to build itself into an international consumption hub city, Cuntan International New City has become a highland rivaling the CBD. Among its areas, the Jinshan district has been revitalized around multiple tiers such as fashion trends and cultural creativity. Jinshan Yiku stands out as a typical representative of the high-quality living demonstration zone. Having been formed and maturely operated for six years, Jinshan Yiku has already used its unique tone to lead the city's infinitely interesting experiential scene design.
This cultural and creative industrial park, standing in the Liangjiang New Area, has its architectural essence rooted in urban industrialization. Yet, amid the city's vigorous development today, these past buildings, following the city's internal development order and industrial renewal patterns, have been appropriately embedded within the hot area of Cuntan International New City's upgrade, becoming a high-quality living demonstration zone for the entire region.
And for Chongqing.
The original site of Jinshan Yiku was a group of young factory buildings. These factories were built in 2004 and were once rented to small and medium-sized enterprises in various industries such as machinery, electronics, printing, and technology.
In a short time, the area around the Auto Expo Center transformed from a suburb into a sub-center of the city. In 2015, the then municipal party leaders of Chongqing were invited to visit the Nanhai Yiku project at China Merchants Shekou's Shenzhen headquarters. They recognized the urban upgrading model of the Yiku product line, and soon signed a "Cooperation Agreement" with China Merchants Shekou, the developer of Nanhai Yiku. At the end of 2015, the first phase of Jinshan Yiku started construction, and it debuted to the public in December 2016. By 2020, the former factories had been completely transformed into what they are today.
In the investment brochure of that time, Jinshan Yiku described the target audience of the project as: "Committed to providing local artists, designers, and creatives with the most cutting-edge cultural and creative resources, thought leadership, government support, and business incubation, to help them realize their artistic dreams in a more professional way, and to join hands with cultural and creative elites to lead the overall improvement of Chongqing's cultural and creative industry."
This proposition remains timeless even today: about a city's artistic dreams, and about all that artists, designers, and creatives seek to create.
Returning to the present moment when Liangjiang New Area is dedicated to building a "high-quality living demonstration zone," high-quality living has been reflected in places like Huanguang Shopping Park, Cuntan Cruise Terminal, and the 5G, VR, and autonomous driving of Lijia Smart Park... But beyond brands and technology, more non-material qualities are clearly manifested in Jinshan Yiku. This is a realm belonging to aesthetics, art, and spirit: here there is no display of luxury goods or the coercion of new trends; instead, what is seen is the exploration of art and aesthetics.
This is another definition of high-quality living by Jinshan Yiku and its residents.
Under such values, from its inception, Jinshan Yiku has exhibited a special anti-commercial character.
Unlike the dark tones of old houses, the young factory buildings feature a palette of celadon and white. The straightforward simplicity of the former factory architecture becomes another architectural language of minimalism in the new era. Large floor-to-ceiling windows become the main landscape for tenants to decorate their interiors. More importantly, during the renovation design and operation of Jinshan Yiku, the owner introduced the concept of "community" into the park. At the project renovation level, the developer gave up some ground-floor storefront area, adopting a scheme of raised ground floors connected to the street. Thus, the boundary between the park and the urban area weakens, merging them into one; the relationship between buildings and the city is reshaped, and the "new community-based creative park" strategy is realized through the concept of "floating boxes."
Giving up the ground floor area is very uncommercial: it means sacrificing the space with the highest unit price for common use. Besides, Jinshan Yiku is also very un-Chongqing—Chongqing is about 9D magic, hotpot, passion, light rail, Spirited Away... Jinshan Yiku, on the other hand, is somewhat idiosyncratic: it is not loud enough, nor spicy enough; it possesses the sensitivity and delicacy rarely mentioned by Chongqing locals. In the street blocks connected to the city's pulse, it resembles a giant museum without walls, where everything in sight is installation art.
In 2018, a large set of rusted iron art sculptures was erected in Jinshan Yiku Square. On the first day of installation, workers set up the four letters "MADE," attracting many people to take photos. "So rock and roll, 'Ma de' written on the square," they said. But on the third day, the workers completed the sculpture, which read "Made in China." Through the structural distortion, both the front and back sides appear as the front. This sculpture is "Made in China" by Professor Sui Jianguo, placed in the main square of Jinshan Yiku.
Behind the sculpture is a cherry blossom grove, with fine gravel and small stones interspersed with grass. On weekends and holidays, mist sprays from the lawn. On one side of the cherry blossoms is a sky garden, with the installation "Flower and Grass Pavilion"—its silver mirrored surfaces and geometric block supports hold a garden three meters above the ground. Beneath the pavilion, aunties waving silk scarves and rock youth with full tattoo sleeves coexist harmoniously, taking photos together, reaching a certain consensus on aesthetics.
The interesting thing about public art installations is that, without the ritual of conventional exhibitions, public participation deconstructs the complexity of art, allowing everyone to have their own interpretation of an art piece.
Without entering any store or mentioning any industry, just walking around the square, even an elderly person with a child can tell: "This is art, clearly impressive." This is the "International Art Axis" of Liangjiang New Area, implemented by the Chongqing Sculpture Society. It invited domestic and international artists or designers (along the "Belt and Road") to create and install seven international art axis works at Jinshan Yiku through independent creation or "1+1" model, achieving the crossover of public sculpture through the integration of art with place and the public. Jinshan Yiku endows the city with a landmark that merges aesthetics and culture. The convergence of art, industry, and commerce elevates the project beyond the inherent element of "location."
This is both a tone and an aura.
Self-operated art spaces in cultural and creative parks are common, but most are small in space and scale. It is rare to find a park like Jinshan Yiku, which uses an entire building as a self-operated ADC Art Center, holding over ten cultural and art exhibitions each year and opening them free to the public. This establishes the cultural and artistic atmosphere of Jinshan Yiku, creating a platform for seamless contact between citizens and culture and art, making art a part of daily life and rooted in the city.
The nearly 300 merchants gathered in this atmosphere are scattered randomly throughout the park, supporting the city's spirit and aesthetics, and giving Jinshan Yiku the confidence to be a highland for cultural and creative industries.
Jinshan Yiku is a rich gathering place for Chongqing's art resources. ArtDepot warehouse has been here for three years. Its founder and chairman, independent curator, art broker, and art investment advisor Zhao Qianying studied at Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts (Decorative Art Design), University of Missouri (Fine Art), and the School of Humanities at Central Academy of Fine Arts (Art Investment and Management). She has curated over 100 art exhibitions globally. The art warehouse regularly holds exhibitions of high quality.
Zhang Zhanzhan, one of China's most sought-after post-80s artists, is known for the red PUPU bear image appearing on the streets of Beijing's Guomao and Wangjing. After moving his studio to Jinshan Yiku in 2020, he held five exhibitions within a year and completed the only global collaboration piece for The Smurfs. In the same year, Hui Wei officially became an exclusive signed artist of ArtDepot at Jinshan Yiku. His creations range from paintings to sculptures, giving rise to the unique IP characters Timmy and Tammy. Using this dual-personality puppet, he has developed collaborations in commerce and branding, and public art projects have been realized in Jiulong Yiku and Donghu Yiku. Beyond that, ArtDepot's public art projects have spread outward, reaching the main streets of Cuntan International Fashion Consumption Zone, Lijia Smart Park, and Huanguang Shining... Jinshan Yiku's culture and art have grown and spilled over, bringing art into commerce.
Qian Art Museum was initiated and founded in 2020 by professional curator Chen Zhiwei. Located in the Jinshan Yiku Cultural and Creative Park in Liangjiang New Area, it is a comprehensive art space integrating art exhibitions, international cultural and art exchanges, public education, academic research, commercial exhibitions, cultural and creative development, and high-quality community interaction. Qian Art Museum pursues artistic expression based on real emotions. Art is not mysterious; artworks can be understood, and the art industry's waters can be quite "shallow."
Currently, Qian Art Museum is holding a genuine print exhibition of Dalí's "Divine Comedy," displaying 100 illustrations created by Salvador Dalí, the greatest surrealist artist of the 20th century, for Dante's "Divine Comedy," corresponding to its 100 cantos. This work is a culmination of Dalí's artistic exploration up to that point, combining surrealist concepts, exquisite painting skills, and an understanding of new science. Through an interdisciplinary art form, his unique grotesque style, and dreamlike imagery, he shows us Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.
The artist studio corridor at Jinshan Yiku houses many renowned artists, including Fu Wenjun, Zhang Zhanzhan, Hui Wei, Hou Jianan, among others, who create their latest works in Jinshan art studios. Centering on the ADC Art Design Center, Jinshan Yiku builds an art industry ecosystem to support artists' creation. Stable creative spaces support artists, and the Yiku brand aggregation deepens the incubation of artists, investment, and promotion of the art market.
To better realize the outward spillover of culture and art, Jinshan Yiku follows the logic of industrial growth, referencing the "front store, back factory" business model, introducing the "Creation·Exhibition·Research·Sales" industry incubation model. This organically connects the ADC Art Design Center, ECOOL ART art store, art institutions, and artist studios, forming a unique cultural and art industry ecosystem at Jinshan Yiku, achieving "content creation has a venue, exhibition has space, and sales have channels."
With Jinshan Yiku's cultural industry ecosystem as the origin, its radiating art activities progressively attract local art, culture, and design professionals.
At Jinshan Yiku, there are regular annual art events: "Liangjiang Creative Activity Month," "ECDF Jinshan Yiku Design Festival," "Jinshan Yiku Children's Art Festival," and "Jinshan Yiku Youth Art Festival," collectively known as the four major IP activities. Their content differs from simple commercial art exhibitions and is recognized for its innovation and trendsetting within the circle. For example, the children's painting exhibition's art forms are not limited to children's drawings but include installation crossover art scenes and children's charity photography exhibitions. The Youth Art Festival focuses on the "Small Works Collection and Promotion Plan," gathering young artistic and design forces to collectively promote Chongqing's art power and converge national artistic talent in Chongqing. The ECOOL ART art store also adopts an "art volume retail" model, regularly launching pop-up themes like trends and Chinese style. Though small in space, every corner is a photo-worthy scene.
These IP activities and pop-up spaces are co-created between the park's industries and various enterprises, associations, and individuals. The activities both cultivate local art, culture, and design forces and truly become contact points connecting with the public.
Jinshan Yiku's architectural tone was shaped before development, but its impact on the city is generated more by the constant flow of creativity produced by the many artists, designers, and creative industry leaders after they moved in.
In the home aesthetics sector, Jinshan Yiku holds particular vertical appeal.
The first merchant to put Jinshan Yiku on the map is "Yiji" on the ground floor of ADC. This concept store managed by industry master Xie Ke has a distinctive personal style and is often visited by nationally renowned designers, fashion buyers, artists, and celebrities. Lai Xudong, a regular on "Dream Home Makeover," also established his independent design studio "Dongxi Home" at Jinshan Yiku. The independent furniture brand "LIVIN' LivinYin" has its largest flagship store here. Entering the store, you smell camphor wood—very Eastern and fresh. The real fire fireplace in winter and the hawthorn tree in the courtyard in summer are check-in spots for lifestyle enthusiasts.
With leading home aesthetics brands clustered at Jinshan Yiku, and benefiting from the preserved original building heights allowing Loft configurations, low-density building spaces, and the cultural and artistic atmosphere, various creative design industries have been attracted to move in.
Art does not mean being detached from the world. Amidst the worldly life, Jinshan Yiku also has a unique expression for the pleasures of the senses—eating, drinking, and having fun. The goal is not a cookie-cutter internet-famous spot but a unique attitude, distinctive design, and ubiquitous details of lifestyle aesthetics.
At Jinshan Yiku, you might stumble upon rare businesses—such as MuchMore, a store at the end of the third-floor corridor of ADC, run by former magazine editor and designer Wu Tong. It curates earthenware and vessels from various places. The vessels have charm, as well as Eastern meaning. Several pottery exhibitions have shown great vertical depth in their niche circle.
MuchMore
Qingshan, dedicated to the cultural heritage and conservation of red coral, collects red coral artworks using only top-grade Aka coral from the Sea of Japan, crafted by skilled artisans. Each piece displays the unique warm luster of red coral. Besides admiring beautiful red corals, it is also an elegant tea house—with exquisite furniture, elegant flower vessels, and fine tea ware, all of excellent taste, making it a true place to enjoy incense and tea.
Eating, drinking, and having fun—all connected to art—are natural at Jinshan Yiku, needing no explanation. The most famous is the Extraordinary Bistro·gaagaa, which embraces a diverse taste system. "GAA" in Chongqing dialect means both meat and grandpa and grandma, very gentle and carefree, winning many fans from afar.
Extraordinary Bistro·gaagaa
The Xian Art Museum Restaurant combines art viewing and dining: it is an art gallery and also offers creative fusion cuisine. You can have a meal while viewing an exhibition, or collect art over afternoon tea. There are themed painting exhibitions for each season and new dishes. Probably only in a place like Jinshan Yiku, which blends artistic atmosphere and worldly life, can such a restaurant in an art museum exist.
From the start of investment and operations, the high aesthetic threshold has allowed Jinshan Yiku's quality cultural and creative park style to deepen, making it an active aesthetic experience field in Chongqing today. For Jinshan Yiku, what matters more is that all participants share a consensus to endow every detail with a soul. "Each beauty its own beauty, beauty of others, shared beauty, unity under heaven." When this 'consciousness' becomes a consensus between operators and merchants, they can not only express their own ideas but also convey personal understanding of taste, art, ideals, and life, rather than chasing current trends, and let this field gain more accumulation of aesthetic value.
The past and present of Jinshan Yiku is a long story, concerning the tides of the times, the city's development, and its choices.
In July 2022, the Liangjiang New Area government website published the "International Solicitation Announcement for the Renewal Plan of the Jinshan Area of Chongqing Cuntan International New City" (hereinafter referred to as the "Announcement"). The Jinshan area of Cuntan International New City will undergo comprehensive urban quality improvement, aiming to become an "International Consumption Center, International Business Center, and International Exchange Center."
For Jinshan Yiku, a new era is unfolding.
Regarding the "High-Quality Living Demonstration Zone," Jinshan Yiku provides its unique value for "high-quality" living. In the spiritual realm, Jinshan Yiku, together with all its merchants, offers citizens experiences of creative design and lifestyle through planning in different fields and attributes, fulfilling the city's expectations for art. It empowers the region and summons those who resonate with it. Using the 20-year-old factory buildings and the original intention of founding "Jinshan Yiku" six years ago, it completes a chapter in the story of the city's new landmark in another era.
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Text | Lian Er Ye
Layout | Huamei
Photos | Provided by Jinshan Yiku
