The first can of local coffee in Shanghai was born in Jing’an, and West Nanjing Road has the highest concentration of coffee shops in present-day Shanghai. Throughout the years, Jing’an’s coffee culture has always stood at the forefront of the era, serving as a trendsetting hub and one of the most important coffee cultural landmarks in Shanghai.
On the afternoon of April 29, the 2024 Shanghai Jing’an World Coffee Culture Festival, hosted by the Bureau of Culture and Tourism of Jing’an District, kicked off at the North Square of HKRI Taikoo Hui. Wang Yayuan, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Long Wanli, Deputy District Mayor of Jing’an District, and You Haiyang, Second-level Counsel of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, among others, attended the event and participated in the opening ceremony.
The 2024 Shanghai Jing’an World Coffee Culture Festival, themed “Coffee Together Right Now”, is dedicated to integrating coffee with humanistic art and trendy lifestyle, aiming to create the most diverse, trendy, and culturally captivating urban coffee culture showcase in Shanghai.
Debut + cross-boundary
Continue the trend-setting essence of Jing’an
From April 29 to May 3, numerous coffee new product debuts, cross-boundary art showcases, market report releases, and other creative collaborations converged and took center stage at the marketplace of the Jing’an Coffee Culture Festival. These collective efforts created the strongest recognition and most beautiful scenery for Jing’an’s coffee culture.
Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery, the first Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Asia and the largest in China, has been the featured venue of the Jing’an Coffee Culture Festival for many years. This year, at the exclusive “Coffee Wonderland Outdoor Market”, the seasonal highlights included the extraordinary Oleato “Olive Oil Coffee”, refreshing Lemon Kombucha, exclusive Italian delicacies, limited-edition market souvenirs, and more, leaving coffee enthusiasts delighted with their deliciousness, photogenic appeal, and entertainment value.
Global specialty coffee brand Blue Bottle Coffee, Yongpu Coffee, which always embraces the “coffee+” lifestyle, SLAB TOWN, a coffee brand rooted in Jing’an, as well as LION ROW LAND and Gentle Maker, both prominent brands with their first stores in Jing’an, showcased a variety of limited-edition products during the 2024 Shanghai Jing’an World Coffee Culture Festival. These brands offered residents a more enriching and elaborate coffee experience.
Coffee + boundless
The flavor of Jing’an integrating culture, business, tourism, sports, and exhibition
“Coffee+” is one of the best carriers for specialty blends and the fusion of culture, business, tourism, sports, and exhibition. This year, in addition to the main venue at Dare Mart of HKRI Taikoo Hui, the 2024 Shanghai Jing’an World Coffee Culture Festival also featured two sub-venues for the first time at CITIC Pacific Plaza and Daning Music Plaza. This expansion opens up a new pattern of leveraging cultural and tourism festival IPs to enhance commercial entities and elevate the consumption level of the business district.
The Metaverse Project, a leading immersive interactive content brand in China, launched an immersive virtual reality exploration called “Epoch of Life”, marking its first venture into the intersection of coffee and AI technology;
NIO, a high-end intelligent electric vehicle brand, drew inspiration from its innovative battery-swapping technology to introduce a limited-edition power drink “Pistachio Latte”;
The Bureau of Ecological Environment of Jing’an District initiated “zero waste” actions such as coffee grounds recycling and dedicated coffee cup recycling;
Jing’an District Library hosted the “Jing’an Time · Coffee Elegance” Coffee Utensils Exhibition;
Artist TAOTAO STUDIO presented the new spectrum series artwork “Color Fermentation” to Jing’an;
The Shanghai Jing’an Picasso Art Museum collaborated with the Jing’an Coffee Festival for the first time, offering a unique experience combining specialty coffee and cultural and creative designs;
CBNData under Yinfinity released the “2024 China Youth Coffee Consumption Insight Report”...
These cross-boundary new actions continuously expand and enrich the essence of Jing’an’s coffee culture.
The 2024 Shanghai Jing’an World Coffee Culture Festival also collided brilliantly with the first Jing’an Music Festival (formerly known as the “JZ Spring” Music Festival) and the 2024 Shanghai · Jing’an Modern Drama Valley, offering consumers a holistic Jing’an cultural experience of “appreciating drama, listening to music, and enjoying coffee”.
Offline + online
A consumption scene of Jing’an benefiting the people and business
The “Jing’an Coffee Hundreds Directory” is an innovative practice by the Jing’an Coffee Culture Festival to support coffee shops and stimulate market consumption. This year, the Bureau of Culture and Tourism of Jing’an District, in collaboration with China UnionPay, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of Shanghai, and Zhejiang Tailong Commercial Bank, launched the “Coffee Consumption Voucher” activity as part of the Jing’an Coffee Culture Festival. This initiative aims to promote affordable coffee for the people and create a new scenario featuring “online voucher-grabbing and shop redemption” for Jing’an’s cultural and tourism consumption.
From April 22 to May 7, nearly 150,000 vouchers were distributed to citizens and tourists in Shanghai through the UnionPay App, Bank of Shanghai Mobile Banking App (UnionPay Version), and Bank of Shanghai Good Life App (UnionPay Version). With these vouchers, citizens and tourists can enjoy discounts and promotions at 38 coffee shops from 26 different coffee brands within the Jing’an District. This allows them to experience the fusion of international trends and a vibrant coffee culture both online and offline in Jing’an.
Estimations by the host
From April 29 to May 3, the five-day HKRI Taikoo Hui Coffee Market was expected to attract at least 200,000 visitors and generate sales of nearly RMB 2 million for participating brands. This event would also stimulate surrounding consumer activities significantly. CITIC Pacific Plaza featured a themed coffee track focused on stair-climbing fitness and sustainability, hosting activities as a sub-venue of the Coffee Festival from April 29 to May 1. Daning Music Plaza utilized its outdoor plaza area to create interactive scenes such as camping, games, and pet-friendly spaces. It also collaborated with various stores for fun interactions and offered coffee festival mystery boxes to consumers.