TRANSFORMING BEIHAI INTO A RESORT CITY
Transformation is a powerful word. But it describes perfectly what the Beihai Ocean Gate project seeks to do: transform the city’s outdated port district into a world class tourist destination.
Beihai is a port city in China’s southern Guangxi province, with a rich trading history as the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. Thus it has remained a trade city, but it now seeks to capitalize on its history, climate and prime coastal location to enter into the tertiary stage of development and become a world class tourist destination.
This ambitious vision requires transformative thinking to realise it and the appetite to thoroughly change Beihai in form, appearance, and reputation.
But disruptive creation must be mutually beneficial for residents as much as it is for tourists. We achieve this by designing Beihai Ocean Gate along an innovative and interactive industry chain that combines culture, cruising, and ecology.0
Culture
Walk down through Beihai and the subtropical air is thick with sounds and smells. How can we give this culture the platform it needs so residents feel empowered whilst tourists enjoy an authentic experience?
When multiple dots of a district are connected together, it becomes a true destination. And in this destination we envision the waterfront as the beating heart of the city. Like Shanghai’s Bund, an iconic gathering place which intuitively draws people to gather, shop, and dine.
Cruise
Beihai’s maritime culture is deep-rooted in the city, but it’s always been trade-oriented. How can we transform this to face tourists whilst bringing benefits to both residents and tourist?
Beihai’s fortuitous coastal location makes it perfect for cruises, particularly with its easy reach to Vietnam’s famed Ha Long Bay. Yachting is widely gaining popularity in China, and is particularly popular with middle-aged people, who have both the spending power and desire to spend.
And with yachting activities indirectly creating 10 times more roles than yachting itself, residents are the big winners.
Ecology
Managing ecology is always a delicate operation, after all we must protect the most valuable resource we have. At the same time though, we need to expose people to, and educate them about, nature. So of course, we maximise yet protect natural resources like the beach, and the unique mangrove forest, but what more can we do?
We created the Urban Green River to realise a longer-term vision, where through a physical mile long park, canal, and trial network, the idea of active and eco living is irrigated into the people and city itself.
Transformation as Standard
Presently, it may seem that there is a stark contrast between the popular image of Beihai and the reality. In the popular imagination, Beihai is a subtropical paradise city like Xiamen, a summer city full of tourism activities and outdoors loving residents.
The reality is that Beihai has incredible potential that is ready and waiting to be tapped into. Through transformative vision and recognition of what makes this city so special, we seek to create a world class tourist destination with the true essence of Beihai.