Market slogan

At the end of 20 19, Suzhou gusu district Twin Towers Market became the landmark of "online celebrity". It has changed from an ancient traditional farmer's market to a life market suitable for all ages. Its high-value appearance and complex and diverse formats have brought high popularity and activated the new life of the ancient city. Our reporter visited recently to see what's new.

Interior of the Fresh Food Zone of Twin Towers Market All the pictures in this article are from our reporter Zhu Zhe (except signature).

From the world-famous Pingjiang Road to the south, there is a Dinghui Temple Lane. The granite archway at the entrance, the introduction board of local chronicles and the antique buildings on both sides all tell the long history of the ancient city. There are the famous twin towers of Luohan Garden in the lane, which represent the achievements of architecture and stone carving in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Further on, you will reach the Twin Towers Market named after it-it has been called Twin Towers Food Market for more than 20 years, which is an ordinary farmer's market serving the surrounding people.

Screenshots of the "Dream Renovater" program at the entrance and inside of the Twin Towers vegetable market before the renovation.

With the aging and relocation of surrounding residents and the strong impact of e-commerce and supermarkets, the farmers' market is facing a crisis of development and survival. At the same time, under the background of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, gusu district, as an ancient city with a history of 2,500 years, is also facing a major issue of rejuvenation.

Under the double challenge, Suzhou Municipal Committee, Gusu District Committee and other units and departments at all levels worked together and decided to start with the food market which has the closest relationship with people's livelihood and make an innovation. Zhu Jun, chairman of Suzhou Historical and Cultural City Construction Group, who undertook the project of the Twin Towers Market, told The Paper, "From the planning in April last year, the closure of the city in August to the resumption of business in June, there are many challenges in time, manpower and material resources, but we firmly believe that taking the road of the revival of the ancient city can bring' new' and' prosperous'.

Visit the transformed Twin Towers market, and you can know where it is "new" by sensory experience. In front of us, 23 10 square meter has become a brand-new complex format space integrating shopping, catering, entertainment, study and leisure, and each functional area embodies the integration of tradition and fashion. Shanghai Oriental TV's "Dream Transformers" series recorded the design and transformation of the new Twin Towers market. Shen Lei, a famous designer, demolished the original wall of the food market, and the entrance of the market was changed from three to seven. The original facade was demolished and retreated, leaving enough mobile space in the streets and cities to accommodate more people wandering here.

Screenshot of the animation "Dream Transformers"

The fresh food area is located in the north of the market, and the designer changed the display of storage from the original tiled to stacked, which increased the space utilization and visual beauty. There is also the Food Market Daily on the wall, which specially introduces market information.

Fresh food area map

Products in the area are planned and laid out according to categories, and corresponding decontamination systems are planned according to the drainage and pollution discharge of vegetables, aquatic products, eggs and other different functions. Jia Zijun, the person in charge of the Shuangta vegetable farm project and the post-80s generation in Suzhou, said in an interview that on the basis of keeping the rent and vegetable prices unchanged, more than 60 vendors who used to operate in the old vegetable farm moved back to the new vegetable farm. Since 12 and 17 reopened, the average daily turnover of each vendor has increased substantially.

Aunt Chen Mingyue, the proprietress who has been running the tea business in the Twin Towers for more than 20 years, told reporters: "We never thought that we could sell vegetables and buy vegetables in such a beautiful and clean environment. There are snacks and coffee now. I am so happy! " Aunt Chen, who has a glib tongue, is an excellent representative of the stall owner, and her image has also been used in the humanoid signboard specially designed for the opening art exhibition. "It's so fashionable, it's a new thing for you young people!"

Aunt Chen Mingyue, who sells tea, took a group photo with her artistic image.

Walking in different stalls in the fresh food area, stall owners can be seen everywhere smiling, listening to them recommending fresh ingredients in authentic Suzhou dialect, and they will sincerely introduce the eating custom of "not eating from time to time" to foreign guests. The scene is cordial and warm.

Smiling vendor.

The newly-added snack area is located on the south side of the market, and the berth is designed as a triangle, which greatly increases the space utilization rate and realizes the function of people eating after buying.

Market snack area

This time, snacks with Suzhou local characteristics were specially introduced, such as Chen Laoda Plum Cake, Begonia Cake, Red Bean Dumplings, Sugar Porridge, Su-style Noodles, Wonton and so on, which were listed in Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Chen Laoda and Mrs. Chen, the inheritors of plum blossom cake, and the highlights of market snacks

There is also a small performance stage in the corner, and then there will be different cultural performances on weekends and holidays, which will push the lively index of the scene to a higher point.

There is an electronic screen near the entrance of the snack area, which shows the advanced "smart farmer's trade" system. By collecting the real-time market passenger flow, the number of transactions on the same day and the previous week, the transaction amount, the top six transaction booths and other data, it has become an important reference index for scientific digital management of the market. Transparent and open information also allows visitors to understand the operation of the market.

"Smart Farmers" Display Screen in Twin Towers Market

Another new meaning of the Twin Towers is the revitalized Suzhou cultural element. The logo of the Twin Towers and the signboard of the store are the new ideas of designer Zhao Qing, who rearranged the Suzhou codes of commercial figures in ancient Suzhou with calligraphy glyphs. The signboard of the snack area is based on the pink and willow green of Suzhou Taohuawu New Year pictures, and the name of the snack is taken from Suzhou dialect.

The logo code evolution of Suzhou Twin Towers, the signboard of snack area composed of Taohuawu New Year pictures and Suzhou dialect.

Moving is the background music of the market, and it is a euphemistic and moving Suzhou Pingtan. On the day of the interview, the reporter met Pang Xi, the designer responsible for the overall market display and soft decoration. He especially introduced the agricultural products such as hemp fiber and fish baskets that can be seen everywhere.

Pang Xi is at the Twin Towers Market.

Pang Xi explained: "The fruits, vegetables and knitting utensils on the wall reflect the emotional demands of farmers in the south of the Yangtze River, hoping to let tourists feel this emotional situation and restore their real life."

Decoration of farmers' life scenes on the wall

The rattan chairs in the snack area are also the representative of Suzhou customs. Pang Xi said that at that time, they found local craftsmen in Taohuawu and finalized the basic style. However, considering the high frequency of use in public places, they decided to replace the bottom frame of the rattan chair with a wooden frame and carry out subsequent reinforcement. The black and white characters in the food market vividly tell the seasonal food customs of the 24 solar terms, which were written by professional designers. Shops along the street use old plaques, and mottled cracks reveal traces of time. Their reuse is also the rebirth of old things.

Signs along the street are all old plaques.

The tailor's shop, key shop, grocery store and teahouse along the street have been transformed by four designers, Lai Xudong, Sun Huafeng, Bin Chen and Xie Ke, and they are displayed in an orderly manner, which now attracts young people to watch and take photos.

Tailor shops, key shops and grocery stores are also crowded with guests.

In the outdoor riverside area, the 24-hour bookstore "1/9 bookstore" with only 9 square meters is also a new model of smart retail bookstore in Chinese community. Chu Haifei, manager of the bookstore and head of the book selection team, told The Paper that the bookstore will plan book exhibitions with different themes in combination with Suzhou local culture and market format. With the theme of "Edible Books", the opening exhibition introduced food stories and picture books from all over the world, invited artists to make exhibition models with related themes, and designed unique commemorative gifts and surprise book bags.

Chu Haifei and Inside and Outside Bookstore

To Chu's surprise, many old people have come to buy books since the museum opened. They will read carefully, listen to the introduction of the clerk, and some will give positive opinions.

In addition to the selected books in this volume, what to see, a creative organization dedicated to promoting the daily life of art, has also joined the creative team of the Twin Towers Market. They made an overall plan for the first exhibition, told the history of the Twin Towers Market and the story of nobody, and designed the market's new year calendar, postcards, aprons and other cultural and creative products.

Cultural and creative products exhibition area in the market

There are specially designed parking lots and movable activity areas in the outdoor riverside area, and flash and special theme activities are held irregularly. It is reported that the Twin Towers Market will hold a folk culture and New Year Festival from June 5438 to 10 18 to 20 to add Soviet flavor to the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rat.

Xiao Hu and his partner are taking pictures in the market.

The Twin Towers Market has successfully built a bridge between the younger generation and traditional business forms, and the whole area of Pingjiang Road in gusu district is being further upgraded and planned. More than 40 old houses on Pingjiang Road will be rebuilt and given new positioning and functions. "Let young people come over" is one of the key goals of development.

Outside the market, Wuwang Bridge, which was built in the Southern Dynasties and Five Dynasties, was rebuilt on 1980.

Zhu Jun introduced in the interview that the planning team is investigating and analyzing the consumption behavior of young people and the operation mode of corresponding business formats, and actively exploring a new look of the ancient city that is convenient and fashionable, can tell the past to the new generation and attract new forces to contribute.