Located in Chengdu, China, the Zhuyeqing Green Tea Flagship Store, designed by X+LIVING, transforms the traditional tea shop into an immersive retail environment. The 96-square-metre flagship combines retail design and sensory interaction, creating a contemporary interior inspired by the natural landscape associated with Zhuyeqing Green Tea. Mountains and clouds define a spatial composition that brings together landscape-inspired forms, product display and customer experience.
The flagship store transforms tea retail into a sensory experience
The physical retail environment has evolved from a conventional model centred on products and services towards a more diverse approach based on visual and sensory interaction. Since drinking tea depends on both the surrounding environment and the customer’s state of mind, the flagship store prioritises sensory experience over conventional product presentation.
Rather than focusing exclusively on merchandise, the project encourages visitors to move through the interior, observe the displays from different perspectives and experience the relationship between the space and the ritual of drinking tea.
Mountain and cloud motifs shape the retail interior
The interior reinterprets the traditional motifs of mountains and clouds through the visual qualities of freehand Chinese ink painting. Within the enclosed space, these natural elements form a landscape-inspired composition connected to the ecological origin of Zhuyeqing Green Tea.
Mountain-shaped display counters extend through the store in both horizontal and vertical directions. Through the principle of mirrored reflection, the solid forms appear to transform into clouds, creating the visual impression of mountains emerging through mist.
Curved panels connect the display structures and draw flowing arcs through the interior. These elements meet the functional requirements of product display while enriching the spatial composition and allowing customers to view the merchandise from multiple perspectives.
The layout guides customers through an immersive retail journey
The design minimises rigid architectural forms in favour of custom functional elements developed around customers’ sensory needs. These elements support both store operations and the experience of visitors without separating practical functions from the overall spatial concept.
Functional areas are arranged at different heights and positions, opening a route based on exploration and gradual discovery. As customers move through the store, the changing perspectives create the impression of travelling among clouds before entering the quieter atmosphere of a mountain landscape.
Circulation, product presentation and visual perception therefore operate as parts of the same retail system. The layout allows customers to explore the collections while experiencing the interior from a sequence of distinct viewpoints.
Reflective stainless steel reinforces the contemporary concept
The extensive use of stainless steel introduces a contemporary character while recalling the fluid appearance of traditional Chinese ink painting. The texture and colour of the metal resemble ink spreading across paper, supporting the ethereal atmosphere defined by the mountain-and-cloud theme.
Reflective surfaces increase the visual depth of the 96-square-metre interior and reinforce the relationship between solid structures and their mirrored images. Stainless steel also gives the retail space a modern identity without separating it from the landscape-inspired concept.
The project proposes a contemporary tea retail model that combines product presentation, architecture and sensory design. By moving beyond the conventional format of the tea shop, the flagship engages visitors through space, movement, reflection and the five senses.
Project details
Project: Zhuyeqing Green Tea Flagship Store
Location: Chengdu, China
Area: 96 sqm
Design company: X+LIVING
Chief designer: Li Xiang
Project directors: Ren Lijiao, Wu Feng
Photo credit: Shao Feng
By AN Shopfitting Magazine no. 155 ©