At the 2026 Boao Real Estate Forum, held on August 13th at the Westin Resort in Hainan's Blue Bay Lucheng, Tian Weilong, Chairman of Jinlou Group, delivered a speech titled "The Spatial Revolution from Box Commercial to Non-Standard Scenarios." He announced that the group's first project will launch in Sichuan's Tianfu New Area by the end of this year.
This project is a typical box commercial development. After taking over, Jinlou Group repositioned it by leveraging the natural ecological advantages of Xinglong Lake. The repositioning focused on four key themes: lakeside socializing, sports and lifestyle, art and humanities, and pet-friendly communities, with the goal of creating a trendy, vibrant oasis in a lakeside city.
In terms of implementation, the project avoided major demolition and reconstruction. Instead, it invested just over 20 million yuan in micro-renovations to optimize the original traffic flow and spatial layout. By capitalizing on the scarce resource of Xinglong Lake's waterfront, it broke down the boundaries of the building walls to connect with the lakeside area. This created a sunken social courtyard, a cycling station, outdoor camping spaces, and a lake-viewing platform, seamlessly integrating the commercial space into the park and urban fabric.
Tian Weilong argued that traditional box commercial projects compete based on hardware and brand rents, while non-standard scenarios compete on the exclusivity of urban resources, the uniqueness of the experience, and the ability to continuously iterate content. This marks a fundamental difference from traditional commercial models.
"In the era of existing commercial real estate stock, what is being eliminated is never the physical space itself, but the outdated operational thinking. The shift in mindset is the key to competing in this stock era. The transformation from a standard box to a non-standard scenario is not about tearing down and rebuilding, but about returning to a people-centered value system," he concluded.
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