The old and new coexist with the overlapping rhymes of Wutong. Kunming’s Xunjin neighborhood breaks out of the circle with the new trend of fireworks

China News Service, Kunming, October 5th. Title: The old and new coexist with the rhyme of Wutong. Kunming’s Xunjin neighborhood breaks out of the circle with the new trend of fireworks.

Author Shi Wenzhi

"Go to Kunming city walk, this street is really fashionable!" "The relaxed neighborhoods growing in the cracks of the old city are worth visiting!"... During the National Day holiday, Liu Qing, a tourist from Guizhou who was "planted" by social platforms, made a special trip to Kunming to check in and tour the Tianjin neighborhoods, immersing himself in the slow life under the sycamore trees in the spring city in autumn. "Fireworks and trendy things coexist, and it truly deserves its reputation. It's great to drink, shop, and take photos!" she said.

On October 1, tourists from inside and outside the province checked in to visit Tianjin neighborhoods. Photo by Shi Wenzhi

Covered in sycamores, French-style houses scattered here and there, and the old streets filled with fireworks... In recent years, Xunjin Street, a neighborhood that has become popular on social platforms for its relaxing and healing urban strolling atmosphere, has attracted countless fans. During this year’s National Day holiday, tourists from all over the world like Liu Qing came to Kunming in an endless stream. They savored the beauty of the blend of ancient and modern Kunming in the old streets and alleys.

Yunnan is China's largest coffee producing area. Spring City Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan Province and the innovation center of coffee consumption, with a leading consumer market and diverse scenarios. At present, four major specialty coffee gathering areas have been formed, including Cuihu-Wenlin Street, Xunjin Street-Tiepi Lane. According to statistics from the Policy Research Office of the Rural Work Leading Group Office of the Kunming Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, the city now has 2,400 coffee shops and more than 200 brands. There are 3.1 coffee shops per 10,000 people, ranking among the top provincial capital cities.

The Xunjin District, located on the bank of the Panlong River, includes Xunjin Xincun Ring Road, Jingde Lane, Tiepi Lane and other streets and lanes. In the Qing Dynasty, this was the "Yunjin Night Market", one of the eight scenic spots in Kunming, where merchants gathered. After the opening of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway in the early 20th century, foreign banks and foreign business institutions gathered here. Small French-style Western-style buildings were built along the river, and arcade-style buildings facing the street were arranged at random.

However, as the focus of urban development shifts, the Xunjin neighborhood has become increasingly deserted and has become an aging community. In recent years, the City Walk trend has swept across the country. Starting in 2024, the community began to build a Xunjin coffee block that integrates cultural experience, leisure consumption, and community interaction. Relying on the original old buildings and sycamore tree landscape, it created an exterior space and store environment that complemented the style. More than 50 coffee, catering, and cultural and creative brands have successively moved in. The quiet neighborhood became lively. With tens of thousands of tourists coming and going every day, it has become a popular place for locals to spend money and a must-visit for foreigners.

Mujiangzi cold brew, cedar wood pine cold brew... Xingye Specialty Coffee, a coffee brand from Pu'er, Yunnan, has been extremely popular since it landed in this neighborhood at the end of 2024 with its minimalist industrial-style environment and local flavor special coffee. Zhang Sixi, co-founder and brand director of the coffee, said that the specially blended coffee that incorporates Yunnan’s dark red roses, wood ginger seeds, green plums and other local characteristics is not only an innovation in taste, but also a confident expression of Yunnan’s terroir. “We hope to use a cup of good coffee to attract more people into the old neighborhood and give it new life.”

The courtyard-style coffee project Panlong Shiqihao, which houses two Republican-style buildings, covers the functions of coffee industry cultural display, tasting and consumption, etc. It not only fills the gap in the Kunming coffee industry service platform, but also meets the diverse needs of business exchanges and coffee cultural experiences.

A few hundred meters away, "Xunjin Returns to Neighbors" has transformed more than 800 square meters of idle space into several specialty shops. The building retains its original cement facade, allowing the old building to be organically integrated with new trendy business formats. Shanghai Japanese food, Yunnan specialty snacks, simple meals, parent-child food, etc. are all available.

"We hope to superimpose modern aesthetics with the historical thickness of the neighborhood to achieve a two-way flow of commercial activation and long-term traffic." Zhang Yichi, the person in charge of the "Xunjin Return to Neighbors" project, said that in order to ensure customer stickiness and stable quality control, many "Xunjin Return to Neighbors" stores basically change their menus every three months, and hold cultural exhibitions, markets, pop-up and other activities to keep the community fresh.

On October 1, tourists drank coffee and experienced slow life in Xunjin District. Photo by Shi Wenzhi

“The community and the merchants are a ‘co-construction partnership’ and are not ‘objects of management’ in the traditional concept.” Ma Hui, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Neighborhood Committee of Xunjin Xincun Community, Jinbi Street, Xishan District, Kunming City, said that the community relies on coffee affairs platforms, business enterprise platforms, etc. to continuously organize coffee managers to discuss community construction, achieving two-way communication between merchants and the community.

Nowadays, the lively Xunjin neighborhood not only allows residents living here to experience the blending of old and new and the revitalized living atmosphere, but also attracts groups of young people to "go home" to start businesses and develop.

"Currently, the old house that has been idle for many years is being renovated. After opening at the end of the year, we will make simple meals to provide healthy and delicious food to young people." Xu Jing, a girl from Kunming, said that she plans to launch Chinese and Western pizzas with Yunnan flavor such as fried pork with pepper, potato with old milk, and beef in sour soup. "I believe many young people will like it very much." (over)