(22 September 2022) The first World Design Cities Conference (WDCC) organized by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government was held at Huangpu Riverside from 15 to 18 September. As a partner of the WDCC and an innovation-driven consumer group rooted in China and founded in Shanghai, Fosun and Yuyuan, the flagship platform of Fosun’s Happiness segment, fully showcased their innovative ideas and creative designs in terms of products, content, scenarios etc. at the WDCC, contributing to building Shanghai into a world-class "city of design."

Photo source: Distributed in Shanghai

Shanghai is a highland of domestic design and a center of brands. Thinking beyond products and brands, local enterprises are taking design as the foundation to connect history and the present and build originality. On 16 September, Li Qiang, Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, visited the main exhibition of Designing Innovative Cities themed around “Vision in Perspective” to conduct a field research on the 2022 WDCC.

At the WDCC, Fosun and Yuyuan presented new products from Shede Spirits, Tom Tailor, WEI, St Hubert, Silver Cross, Dongjia, Wanbang Hanfang, Babytree and other brands, covering all aspects of life such as clothing, food, housing, transportation, demonstrating the robust capabilities of Fosun and Yuyuan to create happy lives for families worldwide.

Over the past 30 years, Fosun and Yuyuan have dedicated to strengthening their business presence and designing innovative products to create a happy ecosystem centered around Health, Happiness, and Wealth for families worldwide. Standing at the new starting point, Fosun and Yuyuan will join hands with customers, partners, investors, governments and all parties in the society, and continue to spare no effort to explore boldly in design and brand building. While continuing to strengthen business development, they will also strive to realize the complementarity between Shanghai’s urban development and the brands of Fosun and Yuyuan, thereby enhancing the soft power of Shanghai. 

Seizing Opportunities from the WDCC to Promote “Oriental Life Aesthetics”

Photo source: Distributed in Shanghai

On the first day, Gong Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai Municipality inaugurated the opening ceremony. Xu Xiaolan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Wu Qing, Executive Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipality, and Qu Xing, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) delivered speeches. Zhang Wei, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipality, attended the opening ceremony. A number of creative design projects and international cooperation projects, including the "Oriental Life Aesthetics Design Demonstration Hub" presented by Yuyuan, a subsidiary of Fosun, were officially launched at the opening ceremony to promote the construction of Shanghai into a world-class “city of design”.

As the birthplace of Shanghai folk culture and Shanghai-style culture hub, Yuyuan has continuously brought industries such as jewelry fashion, cultural commerce, cultural food and beverages, wine industry, national watches and cultural creative industry together in recent years, demonstrating the unique temperament of oriental life aesthetics and laying a foundation for the construction of the oriental life aesthetics design demonstration hub. As Yuyuan has become the primary developer of the precious land plot on Fuyou Road, Huangpu District, the "Grand Yuyuan" connecting to Yuyuan is about to launch. In the future, Yuyuan will leverage Fosun's global industrial resources to build an "Oriental Life Aesthetics Design Demonstration Hub," offering amazing experience to create happier lives for families and providing development momentum for the city.

Gathering the Power of Design and Innovative and Creative Industries to Draw Up a Blueprint for the "Oriental Life Aesthetics Design Demonstration Hub"

As an important component of the first WDCC, the thematic event “Design for Happiness - Oriental Life Aesthetics Night” was held at the Huangpu Riverside in Shanghai on the evening of 17 September 2022. Xu Xiaoliang, Co-CEO of Fosun International, who attended the event, said that as an enterprise founded and rooted in Shanghai, Fosun's development is inseparable to the support of Shanghai. We will respond positively, participate fully and contribute the "Power of Fosun” to building Shanghai into a world-class city of design.

Not long ago, Yuyuan, a subsidiary of Fosun, joined hands with partners to become the primary developer of the land plot on Fuyou Road, and the future "Grand Yuyuan" will be positioned as a global fashion and cultural venue with the charm of oriental life aesthetics. At the thematic event, three oriental life aesthetic design concepts embodied in the Grand Yuyuan were further explained:

The first concept is to demonstrate the beauty of the past and present based on the long history of Yuyuan. Since the Old City of Shanghai, where Grand Yuyuan is located, has many protected and preserved historical buildings, the design of the Grand Yuyuan will conform to the city's cultural heritage and historical buildings, creating a new relationship between people and architecture.

The second concept is to use spatial configuration to highlight the beauty of function. Designers of Grand Yuyuan will explore ways to expand underground space and construct a footbridge to solve the thorny transportation issue of the Old City of Shanghai and create a public recreational space with open spaces and water features.

The last concept is to bring out the inner beauty of the city. As an urban renewal project located in the core area of Shanghai, the Grand Yuyuan aims to consolidate the functions of the core area and promote industrial transformation and upgrading, so as to respond to Shanghai's goal of being a world-class city of design and an international fashion capital.

At the same time, two major projects centered around the "Oriental Life Aesthetics Design Demonstration Hub", were announced, namely the “2023 Yuyuan New Year Folk Experience” and the first “Oriental Craftsman Ceremony”; in addition, Shanghai International Fashion United The conference also announced that the 11th Shanghai Haute Couture Week will be held at the Grand Yuyuan. Diverse design-focus content, such as folk culture, intangible cultural heritage, fashion trends, will jointly promote the formation of the "Grand Yuyuan, an Oriental Life Aesthetic Design Demonstration Hub."

In the subsequent development and operation of the "Grand Yuyuan”, Fosun will build an oriental life aesthetics ecosystem for the incubation, growth, exchange and symbiosis of global innovative and creative industries, such as introducing international fashion and creative academies, establishing a fashion capital resource center, building an international level fashion event service platform, to further promote the construction of Shanghai into a world-class city of design and enhance the soft power of Shanghai.