8 Billion Yuan Invested to Build a Mega Cultural and Tourism IP: Nanning Yongzhou Ancient City Blends Retro Charm with Modern Innovation

Reviving Nanning’s Yongzhou Ancient City: Blending History with Modern Cultural Tourism.In the current highly competitive cultural and tourism commercial landscape, every city is on the lookout for a “super IP” that can embody local culture while activating consumer engagement. Nanning, the capital of the Zhuang ethnic region, is leveraging urban renewal and commercial revitalization to showcase the thriving fusion of its historical heritage with modern cultural tourism commerce through the millennia-old Yongzhou Ancient City.On September 26, the Yongzhou Ancient City project promotion and brand signing event kicked off at the Zhonghua Grand Theater within Nanning’s “Three Streets and Two Alleys” area. The event, themed “ highlighted the project’s planning and attracted 80 high-quality brands signing agreements to join the development. Several of these brands opened their first stores in Nanning, signaling the official transition of the Yongzhou Ancient City project—anchored by the “Three Streets and Two Alleys,” Zhongshan Road, and Water Street—into a new phase of brand aggregation and accelerated operation. It also serves as a clear declaration of Nanning’s cultural tourism commercial strength: a super IP that fuses historical depth with contemporary vitality is making its grand return.Nanning: China’s “City That Sleeps the Latest” Attracting 176 Million Visitors.With deep cultural and tourism foundations, Nanning has earned the nickname “City of Old Friends.”

The event saw over 300 participants, including Nanning Vice Mayor Xu Kefeng, city and district government officials, industry associations, well-known enterprises, and mainstream media. Key project stakeholders, including Nanning Weining Group (the project owner) and Beijing Weiguang Cultural Tourism (organizer), gathered to witness this pivotal moment in revitalizing Nanning’s historical cultural district.“We sincerely invite top national cultural tourism resources and renowned commercial brands to join Yongzhou Ancient City, co-writing the revival story of an ancient city,” said Wang Jun, Chairman of Yonghe Huitong. As the project owner, Su Qingwei, General Manager of Nanning Weining Group, emphasized that they would leverage the state-owned enterprise platform, integrate policies, resources, and traffic, and coordinate with government, media, and cultural tourism organizations to form a strong synergy of “state-owned enterprise + professional operations team + high-quality brands,” fully supporting the high-quality development of Yongzhou Ancient City.Located in Nanning’s central district along the Yong River, Yongzhou Ancient City boasts over 1,700 years of historical accumulation and cultural roots dating back to the Song Dynasty. The city’s unique commercial advantages are evident. Known as China’s “latest-sleeping city,” Nanning has an average bedtime of 12:33 a.m., surpassing other first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. With nearly nine million permanent residents, the city exhibits strong nighttime consumption demand.

Night streets and markets thrive here, creating a unique nocturnal cultural and social atmosphere and providing fertile ground for the nighttime economy.ASEAN International Gateway and Cultural Tourism Hub.As the permanent host of the China-ASEAN Expo, Nanning leverages its location and tourism attributes to attract 176 million visitors annually, generating over 190 billion yuan in tourism revenue. The city serves as a strategic “bridgehead” connecting domestic and ASEAN consumer markets, showcasing robust economic vitality and consumption appeal, which fuels cultural tourism commercial development.Vice Mayor Xu Kefeng remarked, “The city government will fully support the operation of Yongzhou Ancient City, making it the city’s first showcase, the core carrier of Ba-Gui culture, and a cultural bridge connecting China and ASEAN.” Wang Xifu, President of Beijing Weiguang Cultural Tourism Development Co., outlined the project’s top-level design and strategic vision, emphasizing its role as a cultural landmark, commercial hub, urban living room, and tourist destination, poised to unlock diverse value and major growth opportunities.Chaoyang Commercial District: A High-Concentration Commercial Hub.

With accelerated construction of the ASEAN-oriented regional international consumption center, Nanning attracts commercial giants like China Resources, Wanda, and InPower, boosting the city’s commercial capacity. Li Wensheng, Assistant President of Winshang Co. and General Manager for South China, noted that Nanning has launched 70 commercial projects totaling 4.7556 million square meters, with per capita commercial area only 0.53㎡, indicating significant growth potential. The Chaoyang commercial district, home to Yongzhou Ancient City, integrates 12 renowned commercial projects with a total area of 613,500㎡, making it the city’s most concentrated and high-value commercial area.Revitalizing Historical Streets for New Commercial Energy.In mature commercial zones, concentrated commercial projects can boost district prosperity but also heighten competition, necessitating new commercial vitality. The thousand-year-old Yongzhou Ancient City, revealed in the recent press conference, is positioned to become a key force in rejuvenating the commercial district. Covering 250 acres with over 210,000㎡ of total construction area and nearly 8 billion yuan in investment, the project establishes a rare, large-scale cultural tourism IP.Yongzhou Ancient City: Three Distinct Districts Forming a Super IP.

The project is composed of three major commercial streets: the nationally recognized Zhongshan Road Pedestrian Street, Water Street, and the “Three Streets and Two Alleys” cluster. Anchored in the existing districts and linked by Yong River culture, the plan connects Nanning’s long history, diverse ethnic culture, and ASEAN influences. Each district has distinct characteristics, yet they operate synergistically through a “one street, one theme, three streets coordinated” strategy, creating a closed-loop ecosystem of “cultural experience — trendy consumption — culinary exploration.”This “all-time, all-scenario” operational model responds to Nanning’s night economy and explores a “host-guest shared” cultural tourism ecosystem, providing an exemplary model of localized innovation for urban renewal in China.Three Streets and Two Alleys: Cultural anchor showcasing Ming-Qing to Republican-era architecture, traditional commerce, local theater, and red cultural elements, forming Nanning’s “cultural reception hall.” It integrates cultural performances, creative retail, and aesthetic lifestyle experiences. Since opening in 2018, it has been recognized as a national-level nighttime cultural and tourism hub and a national-level leisure street, attracting over 15 million visitors annually and ranking in the top 10 national leisure street destinations in 2024.Zhongshan Road: Historic night market dating back to 1935, known as one of China’s top ten night markets.

Now revitalized with three thematic routes: Old Flavors Food Street, Leisure Republican Street, and Old Friends Theme Street. Local brands and night market food stalls create continuous day-to-night consumption.Water Street: Transforming a century-old dock-side street into a trendy hub for young consumers, integrating historical buildings and modern entertainment, cross-industry collaborations, and new IP content to create a dynamic urban youth center.Strategic Public-Private Collaboration.To ensure high-standard, professional, and sustainable operations, the Nanning Municipal Government collaborated with Beijing Weiguang Cultural Tourism to establish a joint venture, responsible for unified planning, investment promotion, operation, and brand management. This strategic partnership combines market efficiency with cultural preservation and public interest.With localized cultural DNA meeting modern commercial dynamism, Yongzhou Ancient City goes beyond a mere commercial project. It revitalizes Nanning’s Chaoyang commercial district, serves as a gateway for Guangxi’s cultural tourism to the nation and ASEAN, and exemplifies localized, differentiated innovation in China’s cultural tourism sector. Moving forward, the city aims to deepen the “culture + tourism + commerce” integration, positioning Yongzhou Ancient City as a super cultural tourism IP with historical depth and contemporary vitality—a landmark in Nanning’s cultural tourism commercial development.