Next to the millennia-old splendor of the Yuejiang Tower Scenic Area in Gulou District, Nanjing, there once stood a complex of old factory buildings covering an area of 26,000 square meters that had lain abandoned for many years—the former People’s Liberation Army Navy Factory No. 101. This site was once a production base for the People’s Republic of China’s naval equipment, but after years of disuse due to operational and planning adjustments, it became a “dormant asset” in the heart of the city.

How to revitalize such existing assets and breathe new life into them is not only a practical challenge involving the renovation of physical spaces but also a pressing issue of our time concerning the preservation of urban memory and the efficient utilization of existing resources. As China’s urban renewal strategy continues to advance, the “101 Mingchaoli” project was launched in response to these needs. After completing its renovation in 2024, it officially opened to the public and has since become a flagship project in Nanjing’s urban renewal sector.

At the outset of the project, the 101 Mingchaoli team already had a preliminary vision in mind: they could neither opt for a “tear-down-and-rebuild” approach with a high-density commercial development nor settle for a “heritage-style” restoration that would leave the site trapped in its historical silence and inertia. How could the complex preserve its historical memory while also vibrantly and seamlessly integrating into the Yuejiang Tower scenic area? 101 Mingchaoli provided its own answer: to create an “art and trend hub where culture, commerce, and tourism coexist.” This positioning was chosen based primarily on the following considerations:

Precise “Integration” and Differentiated Positioning: The project is adjacent to the 4A-rated Yuejiang Tower scenic area, serving as a midway stop for visitors ascending the tower. Furthermore, the surrounding area is saturated with historical and cultural resources, making it difficult for conventional commercial developments to stand out. We have always maintained that the project should first and foremost be positioned as a complement to Yuejiang Tower. We aim to skillfully leverage the traffic advantages of this major IP, integrating the complex openly and dynamically into the natural landscape to perfectly blend the vitality of the complex with the tranquility of Yuejiang Tower. We decided to position ourselves as a “dialogue partner for the young,” leveraging the raw aesthetic of the site’s industrial heritage and integrating it with the trendy art forms most beloved by today’s youth. Our goal is to transform the site into both a “backyard” for the Yuejiang Tower scenic area and a “trendy lifestyle space.”

The Chemical Reaction Between “Preserving the Historical Context of Architectural Heritage” and “Soft Trends”: The renovation of 101 Mingchao is not merely a simple architectural refurbishment, but a reconstruction of “spatial narrative.” The design preserves the historical memory of the old factory while incorporating more modern elements into the spatial layout. This visual contrast of “vintage red brick + trendy design” not only preserves the city’s memory but also creates a unique atmosphere that is both rugged and stylish, soft yet trendy. This approach of blending contradictory elements has established the park’s one-of-a-kind “Mingchao Aesthetic,” which perfectly taps into young people’s desire to “check in” at the venue.

 “Scene Reinvention” in Public Spaces: In the design of public spaces, we innovatively utilized idle land to create a 2,000-square-meter outdoor container market and a 500-square-meter outdoor container live music venue on North Plaza. This “mobile and scalable” modular design breaks down the sense of confinement found in traditional commercial spaces, infusing public spaces with vitality and transforming them into a trendy social hub where music festivals, art exhibitions, creative markets, and family-friendly activities can take place.

The “emotional connection” embedded in the content—from “Naval Factory” to “Military IP”: 101 Mingchao Li has set aside a dedicated space to create a naval “Warship Model Museum.” This is not only a tribute to history but also a shrewd move toward “IP-based operations.” What was once a cold “factory ruin” has now been transformed into an educational and experiential “immersive museum.” This tangible application not only fills the gap in family-oriented educational tours within the area but also provides a concrete vehicle for passing down the military spirit of the “Naval Factory No. 101.”

“Breaking Through Dimensions” with Innovative Models, the Synergy of Mixed-Use Formats: 101 Mingchao Li has broken away from traditional, single-use commercial formats by bringing industry, commerce, culture, and art together under one roof. The park has not only attracted subsidiaries of Fortune 500 companies—such as China Construction Eighth Engineering Division and Jiangsu Nari Yinlong Cable—as well as industry leaders, injecting strong momentum into regional economic development; it has also brought in vibrant arts and creative enterprises like “Under the Paulownia Tree” (high-end photography) and WOO DESIGN, alongside competitive and family-oriented venues such as the 101 Basketball Club and Animal Paradise. By bringing in diverse entities and business formats, the park has achieved a symbiotic integration of culture, commerce, art, and industry.

Looking back now, the successful implementation of “101 Mingchao Li” provides an extremely valuable model for urban renewal. Revitalizing existing assets is not merely a matter of spatial renovation, but rather a systematic project based on the “reconstruction of space and content,” the core of which lies in achieving the deep integration and symbiosis of “culture + commerce + tourism” and “people + industry + city.” Today, at the foot of Yuejiang Tower and along the riverbank, this once-dormant industrial site continues to enrich its own vitality in this era with a warm and stylish presence.