A new commercial complex, Qiu Shi Fang, has opened at the Xuhui campus of East China University of Science and Technology. Developed by Nine Hundred Century Food Mall Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai New Nanxi (Group) Co., Ltd., this project represents a benchmark for Jing'an enterprises in commercial district operations and cross-sector collaboration to empower university services. Moving beyond the traditional campus commercial model that prioritizes operations over service, the complex places serving students and faculty and educational development at its core. It utilizes a distinctive public welfare, multi-functional, and immersive spatial design to create a new one-stop lifestyle scene that deeply integrates commercial services with campus education, injecting the strength of Jing'an into the upgrade of university campus amenities.
Located in the northwest area of ECUST's Xuhui campus, Qiu Shi Fang has a total floor area of 2,824 square meters, having been transformed from an old campus canteen. Departing from the profit-driven logic typical of market-oriented commercial projects, it focuses on the core needs of university teaching, education, and student growth. It integrates diverse formats including dining, retail, convenience services, and study/social spaces, hosting 15 high-quality and compliant brands such as Luckin Coffee, Manner Coffee, KFC, Lawson, and Lianhua Supermarket. This comprehensive mix addresses fundamental needs like daily meals, shopping, and convenient services, embedding accessible amenities directly on campus for the benefit of students and staff.
Compared to standard campus commercial facilities, the standout feature of Qiu Shi Fang is the creation of public welfare multi-functional spaces. Notably, the nearly 200-square-meter multifunctional atrium area on the second floor serves as a central hub for empowering student development and supporting campus group activities and educational initiatives, enriching spaces for public events, independent study, and club activities.
This distinctive space avoids commercial furnishings, opting instead for an open, airy, and elegantly simple design with a scholarly ambiance. It is equipped with soft sofas, casual tables and chairs, and independent rest and conversation areas, enabling flexible, multi-scenario use of a single space. During regular after-class hours, it serves as a light study and self-learning area for students and faculty. The quiet, comfortable environment is suitable for individual study, group discussions, or teachers' temporary office work and lesson preparation, providing a high-quality learning venue outside the classroom and extending the educational environment.
Simultaneously, the space is deeply integrated with campus group and student union work, becoming a main venue for public welfare activities organized by the university's Youth League Committee, Student Union, and various student clubs. The venue is entirely free for all students and staff, flexibly accommodating various campus activities such as class meetings, ideological lectures by the Youth League Committee, work reviews by the Student Union, club training sessions, small-scale lectures and salons, and team discussions.
Eliminating the need for off-campus venue rentals and free from commercial restrictions, it significantly reduces the costs associated with campus team-building, student practice, and club development. This provides solid hardware support for campus cultural development and the cultivation of students' comprehensive qualities, truly realizing the use of commercial space to serve the university's educational mission.
Beyond the core multi-functional study and social space, the second floor of Qiu Shi Fang focuses on high-frequency, essential needs of students and faculty, concentrating lifestyle service formats such as printing/copying, barber/hairdressing, and binding services. This "one-stop" approach resolves daily errands, saving the time and hassle of traveling off-campus.
More notably, the project has specially created a free public meeting hall, offered without charge for various formal activities within the university, embedding public welfare and service attributes throughout the project's construction and operation. This creates a new form of campus commerce that is warm, accessible, and education-focused.
As an innovative outcome of deep university-enterprise cooperation from a Jing'an enterprise, Qiu Shi Fang leverages the mature operational experience gained from the company's deep involvement in the Jing'an Central Activity Zone (CAZ). It transcends traditional commercial thinking, guided by the original intention of "commerce empowering education and services aiding development," to construct a new campus commercial model of "commercial convenience + public service + study and education." Since opening, the new space environment, rich array of convenience formats, and thoughtful public welfare amenities have received unanimous praise from the campus community.
Moving forward, Nine Hundred Century Food Mall Co., Ltd. will continue to uphold the responsibility and commitment of a Jing'an state-owned enterprise, deepening the distinctive "university-enterprise collaboration, service for education" model. It will dynamically optimize the business mix, upgrade public space services, and enrich supporting functions for group and student activities based on the actual needs of students and staff. The company will continue to refine its detailed convenience services, invigorate the vitality of campus public spaces, and strive to build a benchmark for commercial services in Shanghai's university campuses. With the warmth characteristic of a state-owned enterprise and the quality service standards of Jing'an, it aims to support the university's educational mission and enrich campus cultural life.
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