CapitaLand welcomes over 900,000 shoppers to Raffles City Chongqing during opening weekend

The 235,000 sq m mall is part of the Group’s largest Raffles City development at 1.12 million sq m

Crowds gathered in eager anticipation to be among the first to visit Raffles City Chongqing on Friday, 6 September 2019. The 235,000 sq m shopping mall is the first component in the 1.12 million sq m megastructure to welcome the public. The largest mall to open in Chongqing this year and the latest must-visit destination in the bustling metropolis, Raffles City Chongqing welcomed strong shopper traffic of over 900,000 during its opening weekend.

Singapore, 9 September 2019 – Following the successful launch of Funan and Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore in 1H 2019, CapitaLand has added another feat to its track record of creating iconic integrated developments with the opening of Raffles City Chongqing in China. The first component in the 1.12 million square metre (sq m) megastructure to welcome the public was the 235,000 sq m shopping mall, which launched on 6 September 2019, Friday, with a 95% committed occupancy. About 40% of the over 400 international and local brands are new-to-market brands, flagships or new concepts. The largest mall to open in Chongqing this year and the latest must-visit destination in the bustling metropolis, Raffles City Chongqing registered a strong shopper traffic of over 900,000 during its opening weekend.

Raffles City Chongqing is located in Chaotianmen, a historic site referred to as the crown jewel of Chongqing that offers magnificent views of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers converging. It is Singapore’s and CapitaLand’s single largest development in China at RMB24 billion (S$4.8 billion). In addition to the retail podium, the integrated development comprises Ascott Raffles City Chongqing serviced residence, InterContinental Raffles City Chongqing hotel, Grade A office space and luxury apartments housed within eight skyscrapers.

Mr Lucas Loh, President, China, CapitaLand Group, said: “The opening of Raffles City Chongqing marks a new milestone in CapitaLand’s contribution towards and benefitting from China’s urbanisation push. As the ninth Raffles City development to turn operational, it is by far our largest and most complex integrated development. Seven years in the making, Raffles City Chongqing is a megastructure that melds astounding architectural design with sustainable urban planning. The development was purposefully built to spearhead the renewal of the Chaotianmen riverfront district with world-class live-work-play amenities and improved accessibility. We are confident that Raffles City Chongqing will catalyse new opportunities to fulfil Chongqing’s global city aspirations.”

Mr Chin Phei Chen, Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Management, China, CapitaLand, said: “As the representation of CapitaLand’s new-gen malls in China, Raffles City Chongqing combines experiential retail concepts with digitalisation to excite and engage shoppers. Value-added services such as augmented reality navigation, restaurant booking and carpark reservation are supported by the CapitaStar app. In addition to curating an attractive tenant mix, we have also created public spaces with regular art and heritage showcases for the public to enjoy, learn and discover. Raffles City Chongqing is at once a showcase of local culture to the world and a beacon of international sophistication in the aspiring global city; in short, a destination for both residents and tourists.”

Shoppers enjoyed a slew of performances and experiential offerings at the mall to celebrate its opening, including performances, China's first AstroBoy FLY CITY exhibition and a specially curated 1.2-metre children’s art gallery.

A collection of local and international brands

Bringing Chongqing to the world, Raffles City Chongqing features about 40 well-loved local names. Shoppers are greeted by authentic local experiences at the first level of the mall, with a Yangtze River zone designated as a local cuisine and dining cluster, and a Jialing River zone for local gifts and memorabilia. Tickets to the viewing gallery at The Crystal, Raffles City Chongqing’s much anticipated 250-metre high sky bridge, will also be available for purchase at the first level when it opens in 1H 2020.

International brands making their first foray, opening flagship or new concept stores at Raffles City Chongqing include C&A, Old Navy, GAP and UGG. These names complement other international favourites such as CASA BIJOUX, DKNY, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Salvatore Ferragamo, Lego and Alienware. F&B brands marking their debut in Chongqing include Haidilao hotpot, TWG Tea and Spacelab, an “internet celebrity” restaurant that uses spiral slides to serve food to its customers. Experiential retail and lifestyle brands include online-to-offline retail store Jiwu by Suning, e-sports operator CLSA and Whyte Woolf Fitness Club. Anchor tenants at the mall include leading movie theatre chain CGV, electric vehicle company NIO’s showroom-cum-clubhouse, bookstore chain Yanjiyou, and gourmet supermarket Ole’.

O2O: Shoppers at Jiwu by Suning, an online to offline retail store in Raffles City Chongqing.

Experiential: Shoppers got to experience China's first AstroBoy FLY CITY exhibition at Raffles City Chongqing.

A human-centred design philosophy

The spacious interior of the mall has been designed to enhance shoppers’ comfort and well-being. In addition to providing personalised guest relations, the mall also features family-centric amenities including a 300 sq m nursing room with panoramic river views. A specially concocted signature scent welcomes shoppers upon entering the mall, immersing them in a multisensory experience.

Located at one of Chongqing’s top attraction sites, the shopping mall features a 24-hour pathway connecting the Jiefangbei pedestrian street with Chaotianmen Square. The pathway also showcases artefacts to highlight Chongqing’s illustrious past and its importance in Chinese history.

The multiple entrances at different levels, combined with Raffles City Chongqing’s integration with a major transportation hub comprising ferry, subway and bus stations, offer visitors seamless accessibility to the mall.

The front view of Raffles City Chongqing. Inspired by the region’s thousand years of waterway transportation culture, Raffles City Chongqing’s award-winning design takes the form of powerful sail surging forward on the historic Chaotianmen site where, where the blue of the Jialing River meets the Yangtze River's brown waters.

Aerial footage of The Crystal

The last piece of The Crystal’s curtain wall being hoisted into place

Beginning of The Crystal’s hoisting process

Raffles City Chongqing Property Summary

Location	Chaotianmen, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China (No. 8, Jiesheng Street)
Description	An integrated development with eight towers comprising: - a 73-storey residential tower; - a 65-storey office-and-hotel tower; - two 47-storey residential towers; - two 46-storey residential towers; - a 43-storey office-and-serviced residence tower; - a 40-storey office tower; and - an enclosed sky bridge, The Crystal, nestled above four of the towers and linked to two adjacent towers by cantilevered bridges. It measures 300 m in length, 32.5 m in width and 26.5 m in height. Sitting below these towers are: - a 5-storey shopping mall (L1 to L5) with an open-access roof garden Gateway Park; - a lower ground level comprising a bus terminal and a tourist centre; and - 3 levels of basement car park (B1 to B3).
Site area	9.2 hectares
Construction floor area	1.12 million sq m
Gross floor area (excluding car park)	817,000 sq m
Number of car park spaces (for the entire development)	3,200 lots
Number of shops	Over 400
Developer / owner	CapitaLand
Estimated completion date	Shopping mall: September 2019 Ascott Raffles City Chongqing: 4Q 2019 Office towers: 4Q 2019 InterContinental Raffles City Chongqing: 1H 2020 The Crystal sky bridge: 1H 2020
Project development expenditure	RMB24 billion (about S$4.8 billion)

Key consultants

Architects	Safdie Architects P & T Group International Ltd
Quantity surveyor	Rider Levett Bucknall Limited
Mechanical, electrical & plumbing engineer	WSP (formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff Consultants (Pte) Ltd)
Structural engineers	Arup International Consultants (Shanghai) Co, Ltd.
Commercial Consultant	Buchan
Lighting Consultant	BPI
Landscape Consultant	WAA

The Crystal Fact Sheet

Known as Raffles City Chongqing’s crowning glory and the development’s ninth “horizontal skyscraper”, The Crystal is an enclosed sky bridge nestled above four 250-m-tall skyscrapers and links two adjacent towers by cantilevered bridges. Measuring 300 m in length, 32.5 m in width and 26.5 m in height, it is the world’s highest sky bridge linking the most number of towers.

Envisaged as the centre of civic activities where locals and visitors from around the world converge in Chongqing, The Crystal houses a rich array of amenities, including a viewing gallery, lush gardens, an infinity pool and restaurants. When darkness falls, it transforms into a giant light beam, illuminating the night sky with a pulsating light show. To ensure the public’s year-round enjoyment of The Crystal’s facilities, design provisions such as air-conditioning, have also been catered for.

The Crystal is made up of a continuous steel structure weighing 12,000 tons and enclosed with a ring comprising about 3,000 pieces of glass panels and close to 5,000 aluminium panels. To erect efficiently, the steel structure is first divided into nine segments – four segments that are built in-situ above the four towers; three middle segments suspended between the four towers that are prefabricated on ground and hoisted into place by hydraulic strand jacks; and two cantilever segments that are assembled in short sections from the two ends of the rightmost and leftmost towers. Hoisting the three middle steel segments of The Crystal – each weighing up to 1,100 tons – to the designated height of 250 m marks a world first.

Fun facts

1)    At 300 m long, The Crystal is longer than Singapore’s tallest building laid on its side. This is also more than three times the height of the Statue of Liberty in the United States, which measures 93 m, laid on its side.

2)    The Crystal’s continuous steel structure weighing 12,000 tons is equivalent to the total weight of France’s Eiffel Tower.

3)    The Crystal will be home to close to 120 trees, which will measure about 9 m in height when they have matured.

4)    The Crystal houses two pools – a 50 m x 8 m main pool and an adjoining 10 m x 8 m children’s pool.

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