An art exhibition, “Our Well-off Life,” is held in the canal-themed roof garden on the dome of Sho Kai Tongzhou MixC One.

On the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, people across China hold activities to pay tribute to Caishen, the Chinese God of Wealth, and the day is regarded as his birthday. This year, it fell on February 2.

The Sho Kai Tongzhou MixC One, a large commercial complex in the sub-center of Beijing, was crowded with visitors that day. A pavilion shaped like a traditional Chinese papercut had been built in the atrium of the building, decorated with colorful lights and Tu’er Ye, or the Lord Rabbit figurine, a 400-year-old symbol of health and prosperity. Besides, this being the Year of the Snake, an auspicious snake statue was also placed in the atrium, which attracted visitors to take selfies with it.

Below the pavilion, children hunted for treasures with their parents while staff dressed up in traditional Chinese clothes watched over them. There were other activities as well, like telling the legend of Lord Rabbit, solving lantern riddles, and playing gomoku, also called Five in a Row. After the games, they made scented sachets with Chinese herbal medicines and potpourri. These are traditional activities, which people believe will bring good fortune in the new year.

For senior citizens, there were shops selling all kinds of herbal tea. They could choose their favorite flowers and herbs, such as roses, the poria cocos mushroom said to boost immunity, and dried tangerine peel, to concoct customized tea.

A young girl plays the board game Gomoku, or Five in a Row, at Sho Kai Tongzhou MixC One at the Beijing municipal administrative center, on February 2, 2025.

Blending Culture and Business

The complex stands next to the time-honored Grand Canal in Tongzhou. In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Grand Canal Forest Park and asked the local officials to utilize historical and cultural resources for Tongzhou’s ecological preservation and development.

During the eight years since then, residents have witnessed the air and water improve, while every 300 or 500 meters there are pocket parks and small- and micro- green spaces. Waterfront cycling and weekend camping have become popular. The Beijing (Tongzhou) Grand Canal 5A-Level Cultural Scenic Area connecting several waterfront parks and cultural and commercial complexes along the Grand Canal integrates cultural, leisure, vacation, and shopping activities.

The Sho Kai Tongzhou MixC One, officially opened to the public last year, is a new type of business complex, with seven floors above ground and two floors underground. It includes boutiques and supermarkets, gourmet restaurants, entertainment space and a cinema, and complements the three major cultural venues of the sub-center – the Beijing Performing Arts Center, Beijing City Library, and the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing.

According to the 14th Five-Year Plan, during the period from 2021 to 2025, traditional commercial centers will be transformed into cultural, sports, and business complexes that will house cultural and creative shops, specialty bookstores, theaters, cultural and entertainment venues, museums and art galleries, so as to promote cultural development.

As a new type of industrial agglomeration, the commercial and cultural complex is redefining large buildings and blocks with new functions. Culture is a prime attraction, and consumption is promoted via tourism, creating more experiences for customers to enhance the value of the cultural tourism industry.

A life-size ancient boat stands outside the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing, where visitors can learn about the profound history and culture of the Grand Canal, a historical man-made water route.

Cultural Revival of the Grand Canal

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was built 2,500 years ago. The 3,200-kilometer channel runs through five major water systems that connect northern and southern China, flowing through eight provinces and cities. It is a water vein that has nourished the people and witnessed history. An important cultural symbol, it was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014.

Walking through the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing, visitors learn about the profound history and culture of this man-made water route, and understand the great changes it has brought to this ancient capital and current Beijing via the exhibitions themed on the city, water, sailboats, and people.

The core exhibition area is devoted to the prosperity of the Grand Canal’s Beijing section. Its story starts from the excavation of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the evolution of a military defense town named Youzhou in ancient times to the current capital city Beijing. It also tells of the vicissitudes of water transport from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), especially the great changes that have happened to the waterway and the regions along its banks since the founding of the PRC in 1949.

In addition to photographs and artifacts, the museum has a digital exhibition which provides an immersive experience of traveling down the modern Grand Canal.

The design of the Sho Kai Tongzhou MixC One skillfully integrates the canal culture into its architecture. The facade of the building, made of aluminum plates shaped like a sail, shines in the sun, resembling sparkling waves. A sunken square at the entrance of the shopping mall has artificial flowers and simulated streams cascading down from the top of the building, creating a fantastic scene of the valley of flowers. The square is a public space for holding cultural markets and performances on weekends. The blooming flowers and water ripples symbolize the thriving life on the canal.

A canal-themed roof garden has been built on the dome of the mall. A local, who identified himself only by his surname Fu, told China Today he often brings his children to play there. “The uniquely designed space is a favorite with kids. Besides, the sail-shaped dome creates a strong artistic atmosphere which my wife and I love very much.”

During the Spring Festival, an art exhibition, “Our Well-off Life,” was held in the roof garden. More than 200 New Year-themed pictures were displayed, some painted by local artists, depicting the three major cultural facilities, filigree mosaic art, and dragon lanterns.

Vibrant Cultural Heritage

Not far from the commercial complex is the forest-shaped Beijing City Library. This year’s Spring Festival was the first since it was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last December. During the Spring Festival, people flocked to the library to watch an exhibition that integrated traditional Spring Festival elements and experience intangible cultural heritages.

Inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage were invited to create Lord Rabbit figurines, Chinese cloisonné and exquisite Beijing embroidery. Each item had a profound historical story and unique cultural charm. The library also hosted performances, including dragon lantern shows, shadow plays, and Xiaochehui, a traditional folk performance inspired by real life activities that the audience found highly entertaining.

The Beijing Performing Arts Center is another place with hustling and bustling visitors. From the second day of the Lunar New Year to the fifth day, the Beijing Performing Arts Center hosted the award-winning China National Acrobatic Troupe whose performances included women juggling the diabolo and men doing acrobatics on motorbikes.

According to the data released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the cultural tourism market was off to a good start during the Spring Festival, with some indicators hitting a record high. The number of people taking part in the cultural activities in the sub-center crossed 1.2 million, with 118,000 visiting the three major venues of the Beijing Performing Arts Center, Beijing City Library, and the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing.