Chengdu Tianfu China Merchants Garden City Mall is China’s first ultra-large-scale retail development integrated with a park, developed by China Merchants Shekou. Benoy was appointed to deliver the full scope of design services for the mall, covering masterplanning, architecture, and interior consultancy
As the fifth “Garden City” project by China Merchants Shekou in Chengdu, the development represents a major step in the brand’s evolution. Its pioneering “park + retail” model injects fresh energy into this fast-growing first-tier city and drives the next wave of urban commercial transformation.
Located in the Central Business District of the Tianfu New Area headquarters zone — the core of Chengdu’s fastest-growing development region — the project is uniquely positioned for long-term potential.
Envisioned as an “Urban Wild Living Hub,” it seamlessly fuses a 400,000 sqm park with nearly 500,000 sqm of commercial space, combining multiple formats — enclosed malls, open-air retail streets, podiums, and standalone buildings.
The integrated “Mall + Retail Street” zone covers 300,000 sqm, with the newly opened 120,000 sqm Tianfu Garden City Mall as the vibrant core of this park-led retail destination.
As China’s first ecological shopping mall of its kind, Chengdu Tianfu Garden City reimagines the integration of nature and retail. The project incorporates eco-friendly infrastructure, architectural highlights, curated events, and customized store designs to create an immersive green environment — enhancing Chengdu’s overall liveability, workability, and visitor appeal.
Benoy played a key role in shaping this vision. From masterplanning to interiors, the design team embraced the principles of “Park Life 3.0”, placing experience, scenography, and openness at the core. The result is a new retail typology — a lifestyle destination that invites exploration, interaction, and a closer connection to nature.
Architecture: A seamless dialogue between nature and design
The architecture creates a fluid connection between building and landscape, with park elements and retail streetscapes blending together to offer a natural, breathable urban experience.
Leveraging the site’s natural topography, the design introduces a dual ground-level layout that links L1 and L3, enhancing spatial openness and retail accessibility. As a benchmark TOD-integrated development, the mall sits directly above Metro Line 6 with seamless underground access. Circulation across L1 to L3 connects effortlessly with public transit and urban walkways, optimizing flow inside and out.
The overall architectural concept draws from bamboo as a central design metaphor. Above ground, the focus is on ecological immersion, while the below- and above-ground retail zones are organically connected — blurring the lines between building and landscape to create an experience where “architecture becomes scenery.”
Interior Design: Where poetry meets nature
The interior design builds on the “garden” concept, inspired by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai’s vision of Chengdu as a city descending from the heavens, where trees, clouds, and mountains are woven like brocade.
Drawing from this imagery, the team distilled five themes — brocade, rivers, blossoms, mountains, and greenery — to shape distinct spatial experiences throughout the mall: from Drunken Brocade City on B1 to Embroidered River Gateway, Flower-Strewn Path, Cloud Mountain Pass, and the Bamboo Grove corridor.
Key features include a 1,000 sqm sunlit atrium and a 1,500 sqm indoor garden, enclosed beneath a transparent dome that filters natural light year-round. Paired with interactive digital screens, the space offers a greenhouse-like escape, even in Chengdu’s winter months.
The main central atrium, spanning from Level 3 to Level 5, evokes the feeling of ascending through mountains and clouds — its layered, stepped terraces forming a vertical green landscape for gathering and exploration.
Material selections follow a philosophy of “oxygen-rich aesthetics,” using clean, sustainable finishes such as white engineered stone, wood-textured metals, and lush planting. Seamless lighting and curated art installations further blur the line between architecture and nature, creating a dynamic, ever-changing visual journey.
A diverse ecosystem for every urban lifestyle
The development is designed to serve a wide spectrum of visitors, building a unique commercial ecosystem tailored to families, trend-conscious youth, and business professionals alike. Thoughtfully curated amenities and all-weather family zones cater to parent-child needs, while dedicated retail and leisure spaces appeal to sports enthusiasts and urban elites.
The masterplan seamlessly integrates the super-sized urban park with a diverse mix of retail, dining, and entertainment offerings. Along the park edges, casual eateries, outdoor experiences, and camping-inspired activations create a laid-back, playful “urban wilderness” atmosphere.
A new milestone in ecological retail
The opening of Chengdu Tianfu China Merchants Garden City marks a key milestone in the Garden City brand’s evolution, and sets a new standard for ecological mall development in China. As the country’s first of its kind, it infuses Chengdu with renewed urban vitality and lifestyle imagination.
