On Wangfujing Street, where people come and go, there is the "First Store in New China" - Wangfujing Department Store, which is the first large-scale department store retail store built in Beijing after the founding of New China.

From 1955 to now, the building has kept the original building exterior, but the interior has undergone continuous transformation and upgrading. It has long bid farewell to the single department store retail format and has become a modern consumption space integrating shopping, catering, entertainment and culture.

　　The old taste is still there, and there are more new trends.

Here, the cultural connotations carried by the historical buildings are blending and co-existing with the new business forms, giving off a new style.

During the Spring Festival holiday, when the reporter walked into the Wangfujing Department Store, what he saw was the warmth of the substantial increase in passenger flow, the soothing fireworks, and the surging consumption vitality everywhere.

According to statistics, in the first three days of the Spring Festival holiday, the passenger flow of Wangfujing Department Store doubled year-on-year.

Fireworks——

restaurants line up

　　The North Hall of Wangfujing Department Store is full of strong atmosphere of the Year of the Rabbit.

The super-large Internet celebrity rabbit installation and the interactive art space full of vitality make the customers who come to check in feel the prosperity of the Chinese New Year.

　　The shopping malls are bustling, and the restaurants are crowded.

During the Spring Festival holiday, family dinners have sparked the business of various catering businesses.

Roasted sea cucumbers with scallions, fried three whites, braised prawns in oil... The Cuihualou Restaurant on the sixth floor has attracted many guests with its authentic Shandong cuisine.

　　Not only is the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner fully booked early, but other days are also full.

Every day when it’s meal time, the door is full of diners waiting to be called.

"At noon and evening, we basically have to line up to No. 20 or 30. Some people can wait for more than an hour to come to eat." The hot scene made Cuihua Building General Manager Jia Deqiu feel both familiar and surprised. With high requirements, we have also improved some of the traditional dishes. Now young people like to take pictures when eating, and we have carefully studied how to arrange the dishes to make the dishes more exquisite than before."

　　Meituan data shows that during the Spring Festival holiday in 2023 (as of January 23), the search volume of the keyword "food near Wangfujing" increased by 286% year-on-year, and the search volume of the keyword "Wangfujing" increased by 71% year-on-year. , hot pot, and Beijing cuisine are among the most popular.

Wangfujing/Dongdan is the first choice for tourists to come to Beijing for dine-in consumption. During the 2023 Spring Festival holiday (as of January 23), the online transaction volume and order volume of dine-in catering by users from other places in this business district ranks first in Beijing The business district is the first.

　　According to Li Sainan, head of the marketing department of Wangfujing Department Store, since January, the building’s catering customer flow and sales have increased significantly. Among them, the average daily sales of catering has increased by three times compared with the previous month, and has returned to the same period before the epidemic. .

　　Like the catering market, there is also gold consumption.

In the Chow Tai Fook Pavilion on the first floor, the salespersons were busy taking goods and signing orders, and the citizens waited in line to try on gold jewelry.

The reporter noticed that pendants with small shapes and exquisite designs are the most popular among consumers, among which gold ornaments with the theme of the zodiac rabbit are the most popular.

　　"The Spring Festival is the peak season for gold consumption. With the increase in the number of people visiting relatives and friends, the demand for gold has also increased significantly." Store clerk Jin Jiaoyan told reporters that since January, the store's cumulative sales have exceeded 7 million yuan, a year-on-year increase. 60%.

Chinese tide——

Old Beijing food is popular

　　In the Daoxiang Village store on the basement level, the festive red lanterns, red and green pastry boxes, and various decorations to welcome the new year show a strong Chinese New Year atmosphere.

　　The Beijing Songfu gift box painted with seawater and river cliff patterns, and the Sanhe fragrance gift box full of New Year's flavor... This year, Beijing Daoxiang Village launched a total of 4 pastry gift boxes and 2 cooked food gift boxes, with mellow taste and exquisite Chinese packaging. It was enthusiastically sought after by consumers when it went public.

　　As the most popular old Beijing special pastry gift box, "Jing Ba Pieces" has enriched pastry varieties this year on the basis of retaining the characteristic patterns, tickets and paper rope binding.

In addition, a customized version of the blessing ticket has also been added. Customers can write blessings with a brush in the store and paste them on the gift box.

　　There is an endless stream of customers who come to purchase.

"Beijingers visit relatives and friends during the New Year's holidays, and they can't avoid the traditional dim sum 'Beijing Eight Pieces' in the New Year's goods." Aunt Su, who is shopping, said.

　　In the Spring Festival of 2023, Daoxiang Village in Beijing will supply nearly 400,000 boxes of finished pastry gift boxes and 60,000 boxes of finished cooked food gift boxes to the market.

Up to now, the maximum daily supply of loose-sold cakes is 400 tons, and the maximum daily supply of loose-sold cooked food is 200 tons.

The overall output has increased by 10% compared with last year, and the supply is still in short supply.

　　There is also Heping Guoju, which carries the taste of old Beijing.

From the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Heping Fruit Bureau held a national tide party to welcome the new year.

From the first floor of the department store to the second floor, taking the elevator covered with a red striped roof feels like traveling through a space-time tunnel.

More than 2,000 square meters of Beijing-style immersive consumer experience space is composed of several areas such as pharmacies, non-staple food stores, theaters, and canteens.

In the cafeteria, the clerk wearing a melon cap yelled from time to time: "Have some noodles with fried sauce"; the bulk snack area next to the green leather train model is full of classic old Beijing snacks such as Aiwowo, candied haws, Sachima, and small twists .

　　The commercial center is not only an important carrier of consumption, but also a business card to display the city's culture.

"Wangfujing used to be one of the most fashionable commercial districts in the history of New China. Now we need to rely on the cultural foundation of Beijing to continuously cultivate new consumption scenes that deeply integrate business, history, culture, and leisure experience." Li Sainan introduced, "We We have successively introduced a number of Internet celebrity brands such as Codeword Bookstore and Dabei Photo Studio to create an experience center that integrates consumption, culture, and entertainment elements."

international--

The first store economy is booming

　　At the entrance of the west wing of Wangfujing Department Store, two striking British-style telephone booths and 3-meter-high guards show a strong exotic style.

As the first store in Beijing, Hamlets Wangfujing flagship store attracted many children during the Spring Festival holiday.

　　Children can ride the carousel and assemble Lego blocks, while adults can choose their favorite animation figures.

From the first day to the third day of the Lunar New Year, Hamres specially invited the performing arts team to perform clown magic.

"Our biggest feature is the immersive and scene-based experience in the store, which allows the family to stay for an afternoon." Yuan Yuehua, the person in charge of Hamres, told reporters.

　　The Hamlets Wangfujing flagship store is the 127th branch in the world and the first branch in Beijing, with an area of ​​8,800 square meters.

"We are working hard to break the traditional department store model and transform into a new type of department store. In the future, we will continue to enrich products, culture and experience content, create new hot topics, and attract more traffic." Li Sainan said.

　　The times are changing, but the connotation of service remains the same.

Wangfujing Department Store was once famous for Zhang Binggui's unique skills of "one-shot" and "one-ball fire" service spirit. Time flies, intelligent applications and many innovative businesses have become more and more common consumption scenarios, but "one ball The spirit of "fire" is still passed down from generation to generation.

　　The reporter saw at the scene that Wangfujing Department Store's departure tax refund service of "buy and get refund" has attracted many customers.

At the service desk on the first floor, Zhou Wei, the reception supervisor, is enthusiastically introducing to the customers: "Foreign guests and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who meet the conditions for tax refund on departure can apply for tax refund on the spot here after purchasing tax refund products, and enjoy the 'buy and get refund' 'Serve."

　　Zhou Wei can not only serve customers in English and sign language, but also is familiar with the service process of many foreign-related businesses.

"Wangfujing Department Store is a pilot store for the departure tax refund 'Buy Now Refund'. We will strive to be an encyclopedia of customer service and show Chinese services to friends from all over the world." Zhou Wei said.

　　The "Special Plan for the Layout of Commercial Consumption Space in Beijing (2022-2035)" proposes that by 2035, Beijing will be built into an international consumption center demonstration city where "Chinese fashion", "international style" and "fireworks" coexist.

　　Through the window of Wangfujing Department Store, we can see Beijing's sonorous steps towards becoming an international consumer center model city, and we can also see the bright prospect of China's economic vitality.

　　Coordinator of this issue: Cheng Juxin

　　Layout Design: Zhang Fangman