Bell Tower business district
The bell tower was built in 1384, and in 1582, it was relocated to its current location from the Guangji Street entrance of today's West Street, continuing the status of the center of Xi'an. The Xi'an People's Government was once located in the Bell Tower area and was the political center of Xi'an. Today, the Bell Tower has become one of the must-visit attractions in Xi'an, coupled with the development of the surrounding commercial system centered on the Bell Tower, the Bell Tower business district continues to grow and develop.
The Zhonglou business district has a wide radiation range, with east to the East Gate, west to the West Gate, south to the South Gate, and north to Lianhu Road, which is one of the most popular business districts in Xi'an. The Zhonglou business district has a long history and used to be "one family" in Xi'an. However, due to the long years of operation, many shopping malls have old facilities. At the same time, with the northward relocation of the Xi'an People's Government and the rise of other business districts, the Zhonglou business district is no longer the best in the city. However, on the basis of renovating the original shopping mall, the Zhonglou business district has added many high-end shopping centers, and still maintains the leading position in the Xi'an business district.
The shopping malls in the business district are built around the clock tower, and the transportation is convenient. In addition, the Bell and Drum Tower and Muslim Street, two must-visit attractions in Xi'an, are located in the business district, bringing a large number of foreign visitors to the Zhonglou business district every day. In addition, the business district is located in the core area of Xi'an, so it is faced with the problem of road congestion during peak hours, so it is recommended to avoid peak travel.
Xi'an SKP
Since the opening of the first SKP in Chinese mainland in Beijing in 2007, SKP Mall has become synonymous with high-end shopping malls. Xi'an SKP is the second SKP project of Beijing Hualian Group, with a total investment of more than 2 billion yuan. Like Beijing SKP, it is positioned for high-end consumption, and is known for its complete range of luxury brands and fast product styles. Since its opening, it has become a high-end shopping landmark in Xi'an and even the entire northwest region.
SKP is a shopping mall dominated by luxury stores, which is extremely rare in Xi'an Mall, covering flagship stores, boutiques and concept stores of dozens of international brands such as Chanel, Hermes, Lv, Dior, Gucci and so on. With a construction area of 260,000 square meters, Xi'an SKP has hundreds of well-known brands from all over the world, including CÉLINE, LORO PIANA, TOM FORD, MONCLER, GIVENCHY, ETRO, etc., which are the first to enter Xi'an. Not only that, but businesses such as LV, Prada and Dior have also subdivided their products, setting up special shoe stores, luggage stores and even children's clothing stores on different floors. It is worth mentioning that there is also a special area in the mall "SKP Select", where the products are fashion items selected by SKP from all over the world, most of which are limited to the world and have a high price.
In addition to many top fashion brands, SKP is also a gathering place for high-end dining in Xi'an. Koi Nishiki Japanese Cuisine is on the list of trusted choices for Japanese cuisine in Xi'an, and is home to Japanese chef Ichiro Ito, who has nearly 50 years of experience in the industry. If you want to taste authentic Shaanxi cuisine, you can choose the Thirteen Dynasties. The decoration of the Thirteen Dynasties is luxurious, and the large floor-to-ceiling glass windows allow diners to dine while watching the scenery, which is very comfortable. In addition, Yiwang and Beijing restaurants are also popular restaurants in the mall.
The 9th and 10th floors of SKP are home to the boutique bookstore SKP RENDEZ-VOUS, which means "meeting place" in French. RENDEZ-VOUS IS MORE THAN JUST A BOOKSTORE, IT'S MORE LIKE A CAFÉ WHERE YOU CAN READ BOOKS. Most of the books here are elegant, and there are many beautiful crafts to choose from. If you're not interested in the mall's drunken money, this elegant art bookstore is the place to spend your time.
Century Golden Flower (Pearl River Times Square)
Century Jinhua is a local shopping mall chain brand in Xi'an, which not only has many layouts in Xi'an, but also has a lot of influence in the entire northwest region. Opened in 2013, Century Jinhua Times Square Store is located in the South Gate Square of Xi'an, in the core area of Xi'an, adjacent to SKP shopping mall. Different from SKP, the living atmosphere of Century Ginhua is stronger, and the grades of goods are more diverse.
The overall layout of the mall adopts the square layout of the ancient Xi'an Imperial City, which looks very imposing from the outside. At the same time, the interior design adds many rounded arc designs, making the mall flexible and lively. Art exhibitions are also one of the characteristics of Century Ginhua, since the beginning of its opening, Century Ginhua has held many different types of art exhibitions, micro-film exhibitions and other different types of art exhibitions, making the artistic atmosphere of Century Ginhua stronger, but also enriching the shopping experience of customers.
Compared with SKP, the brand scale of Century Ginhua is relatively small, and beauty and skin care brands account for half of the country, covering mainstream brands such as LA MER, SK-II, Laprairie, Lancome, Armani, and Guerlain. However, there are still some high-quality clothing brands above the second floor, such as MARKCHEUNG, ARTIS, HLOSIO, MIU MIU, etc. In addition, the third floor also has a variety of parent-child businesses such as Lotte World, LEFO, KISLAND, and Carré Racing, which is suitable for consumers with children. In addition, the cinema on the fifth floor and the Taigu SPA on the seventh floor can meet the different leisure and relaxation needs of consumers.
The food and beverage in Century Golden Flower covers Western food, Japanese food, Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine and other categories. Among them, famous restaurants such as crab-themed Crab One Cuisine, Jinguanhui Sichuan-style hot pot and Wangpin Steak are all on the list of trusted choice Xi'an food recommendations.
Intime Department Store Bell Tower Store
Intime Department Store was the first mainland department store to be listed in Hong Kong, having opened its first store in Hangzhou in 1998, and now has nearly 30 major department stores and shopping malls across the country. Opened in 2007, INtime Department Store Xi'an Bell Tower Store is located on West Street, only 300 meters away from the Bell Tower, in the core area of the Bell Tower business district. In June 2014, Yintai launched a new high-end operating brand, in, and has successively opened four high-end shopping malls: in01 (Beijing), in88 (Beijing), in77 (Hangzhou) and in99 (Chengdu). Different from the high-end positioning of the Yintai in series, the Bell Tower Store of Intime Department Store is more accessible to the general public and has a wider audience.
In recent years, Intime Department Store has been actively transforming and continues to introduce brand merchants that meet the preferences of young people, such as NIKE, ONLY, Five Plus, etc. It is worth mentioning that ZARA's first store in Xi'an is located here. Next to the ZARA clothing store is also the ZARA HOME home store, both of which are the anchor stores of Intime Department Store. The first to fifth floors of the Bell Tower store of Intime Department Store are mainly used for clothing, and the brands are mainly mainstream fast fashion brands such as Daphne, Mind Bridge, and Paul Frank. Above the fifth floor is mainly catering, and the variety is relatively rich. Haidilao hot pot is located on the seventh floor, with good service and taste, and the Kitaya International Seafood Buffet Restaurant on the same floor is rich in ingredients and cost-effective, which is also worth recommending. There is a rest area on the fourth floor of the mall, and the chairs are specially made into cute bear dolls, attracting many people to take group photos.
Yintai strives to ensure the cost-effectiveness of its products, so that good products are not expensive. Compared with some other shopping malls in the vicinity, Yintai has launched more concession activities and greater discounts. However, there is still room for improvement in the hardware facilities inside the mall. Yintai's information guidelines are not particularly complete, and only provide the main categories on each floor, but do not provide specific business information, which is slightly inconvenient. Although it has undergone a brand upgrade, the food area on the first floor is still a little low-end from the decoration point of view.
New Century Mall
Xi'an Kaiyuan Mall is one of the oldest shopping malls in the Zhonglou business district, formerly known as Shaanxi Liberation Department Store. Once used as the core shopping center of the Zhonglou business district, it was a must-visit place for Xi'an people to choose wedding supplies or dowries in the past, and still carries the memories of many old Xi'an people. In the 90s, Kaiyuan Mall reopened after a renewal and upgrade. Since then, it has continuously attracted new brands to settle in, and it is still one of the important parts of the Zhonglou business district.
Kaiyuan Mall has 5 stores in Xi'an, of which the Zhonglou store once led the sales. However, with the development of Xiaozhai business district, SEG International Shopping Center has gradually replaced the position of "sales king" of Kaiyuan Mall. After facing the crisis, New Century Mall began to carry out brand adjustment, not only introducing mainstream brands such as MUJI, UNIQLO, AIR JORDAN, Starbucks, etc., but also adding many trendy brands and light luxury brands, such as YSL, Dior, SKII, LANCOME, etc., and the brand structure of the mall is more diversified. But even so, the New Century business mall still attracts fewer young people.
Kaiyuan shopping mall has two underground floors and seven floors above ground, and the floor exit and other locations are equipped with mall staff and good service attitude. The mall is located at the exit of the Bell Tower subway, and it has a large flow of people, even on weekdays.
Other recommendations:
Luomashi Pedestrian Street, Xingzhengyuan Square
