Longhai Commercial and Cultural Tourism Area

Longhai Commercial and Cultural Tourism Area

The Longhai Commercial and Cultural Tourism Area is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

The Longhai Pedestrian Street was newly built in 1999 by the district Party committee and government through market-oriented operations, with an investment of 450 million yuan on the site of the abandoned Longhai Railway. It is a modern commercial pedestrian street integrating business shopping, leisure entertainment, and exhibitions. Spanning a total length of 1,170 meters, it is composed of the East Street in seaside architectural style, the Middle Street in simplified European style, and the West Street in garden-style architecture. With a total business area of over 80,000 square meters, the street currently houses 526 merchants. The annual total retail sales of goods in the entire area reach 2.1 billion yuan, making it one of the districts in Lianyungang City with the highest concentration of people, logistics, and capital flows.

[Management Model] From construction to management, the Longhai Pedestrian Street has always followed a market-oriented approach. First, the entire investment of 450 million yuan in construction funds was raised entirely through market mechanisms, and it took only two years from planning and design to completion and opening. Second, the government placed high importance on the management and development of the Longhai Pedestrian Street. In the early days of the street’s opening, the municipal government established the Lianyungang Longhai Pedestrian Street Management Committee and issued the “Lianyungang Longhai Pedestrian Street Comprehensive Management Regulations.” It mandated that relevant city law enforcement departments assign personnel to form a comprehensive law enforcement team for the street, implementing “special zone operations and closed-loop management” for the pedestrian street and establishing a new management model of “sustaining the street through the street itself.” This means that the government does not invest in management, renovation, or maintenance funds for the street; instead, the management office relies on the street's resources and resolves these through market-based methods. This management model was the first of its kind among more than 2,000 commercial pedestrian streets nationwide.

[Business Characteristics] On the first floor of the East Street, the main business focus is on jewelry, accessories, sports, and leisure goods, while the second floor features local snacks. The Middle Street’s first floor specializes in premium and branded goods, and the second floor focuses on internet cafes and beauty & body care services. The West Street’s first floor offers clothing and toys for women and children, and the second floor is dedicated to early childhood education and training.

[Brand Development] Over the past fifteen years since its opening, the pedestrian street has consistently prioritized brand development. By continuously enhancing the street’s image, improving service functions, and raising service standards, it has attracted more major and emerging brands to set up shops. According to statistics, there are currently 316 brand-operated stores on the street, which is ten times the number at the time of opening, and their retail sales account for over 60% of the total sales in the area. Additionally, through four major golden-week consumer festivals—May Day, National Day, New Year’s Day, and Spring Festival—as well as events such as the Taiwan Snack Festival and New Year Goods Festival organized via government-enterprise collaboration, the street has worked to build its brand and emphasize the “famous street, famous stores, and famous products.” This has not only made the pedestrian street a prominent stage for well-known enterprises in Haizhou’s core business district to showcase their strength and charm but has also continuously expanded its influence.

[Cultural Ecology] Since its opening, the Longhai Pedestrian Street has increased investments in greening, beautification, lighting, and sanitation. Green spaces cover 25% of the total area, and a 100-meter corridor bridge with pavilions has been built within the green belts. The buildings and iconic facilities along the street are equipped with contour lights and neon lights. Cleaners and security personnel adhere to a “five-minute” cleaning rule and a 24-hour patrol system to ensure the street remains orderly and clean. Meanwhile, the area’s maritime culture, Journey to the West culture, and Longhai Railway culture elements have been explored. Sculptures and small art pieces such as “Old Fisherman,” “Setting Sail,” “Playing in Water,” “Five Saints Retrieving Scriptures,” and “Seashell” have been installed in the street. The walls of the East Street feature acrylic marine life decorations, and the north annex of the East Street has a graffiti wall themed on “Journey to the West.” The Middle Street includes corridors for integrity culture and legal culture. Moreover, the street provides an electronic navigation and shopping guide system, leisure seating, a tourist service center, consumer complaint vehicles, and “Lei Feng” service carts. These efforts not only offer a comfortable and pleasant new environment for businesses and consumers to operate and shop but also provide citizens and tourists with a new place for leisure, entertainment, sightseeing, and learning about Lianyungang.

[Civilization Creation] Since its opening, our office has carried out a series of civilization-building initiatives, including being designated as a national model street for the “Hundred Cities, Ten Thousand Stores, No Fake Goods” campaign, a Chinese-characteristic commercial street, an advanced grassroots Party organization nationwide, a national AA-level commercial, cultural, and tourism-themed block, a national model street for service centers in circulation and trade enterprises, a Jiangsu Province model site for integrity culture construction, a Jiangsu Province model street for honest business practices and worry-free consumption, a Jiangsu Province model street for genuine and legitimate goods, a Jiangsu Province model street for integrity culture, and a Jiangsu Province characteristic demonstration commercial street. These efforts have not only yielded fruitful results but have also continuously improved the safety of the consumption environment, the integrity of business operators, and the satisfaction of consumers. For 15 consecutive years, the goal of resolving minor consumer complaints within stores and major ones within the street has been achieved.