Past: Industrial Past along the Canal and Idle, Inefficient Urban Space (1963-2020)
The Dongchao Art park is located in Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan District, on the west side of its railway station area. Dongchao Art Park previously served as the Xiaoshan Warehouse of the Zhejiang Agricultural Materials Group, located there since 1963. It served as a crucial component of the transportation hub that the East Zhejiang Canal, railroads, and highways formed in Hangzhou. Where today stands 37 buildings of red brick and gray tile warehouse complex was the memory of where Xiaoshan District’s community collectively stored agricultural produce for China’s industry in the suburbs of Hangzhou.
After the 1990s the warehouses were gradually abandoned due to the relocation of cargo services and rapid urban development. Buildings began to decay, weeds grew up, and the infrastructures became obsolete, transforming the site into an idle urban space existing only because of the cheap rents it provided, which had become an urban historical scar that needed renewal.
Present: Industrial Heritage Rebirth and Emergence as a Trendy Landmark (2020-Present)
On Oct. 21st, 2020, the neighborhood was chosen as the first historical and cultural block of transportation industrial heritage in Hangzhou, and the Dongchao Art Park Project was launched, following the principle of “the old as the old,” with minimal intervention to historical structures, light renovations and large-scale reactivations of disused spaces.
- Revitalized Building Facades:
Preserved original red-brick building walls, gray tiles and industrial signs such as the number “1963” and “Zhejiang Agricultural Materials Warehouse.” Reinforced building structures and replaced damaged roof tiles with matching tiles. Repaired cracked concrete roadways with colored asphalt and integrated the cultural elements of the canal and supply marketing. - Functional Renewal:
Officially opening in 2021 and occupying a total floor area of 46,600 m2 with a building area of 26,000 m2, the park now features art galleries, music theaters, cultural and creative shopping, fashionable food and beverage venues and night economy markets, creating a new type of space that integrates “cultural creativity + trendy culture + night economy.” - Achievement and Operational Successes:
Hosted more than 200 creative events; Received more than 20 million visitors; Generated over 600 million yuan of income; Created over 1000 job opportunities. It has also won awards from the government of Hangzhou as “one of Hangzhou’s Top Ten Night Landmarks”, as a municipal level cultural and creative block, and as a key province level cultural tourism market in Zhejiang Province for its Sunset Market.
Historical and Modern Significance
Dongchao was the first to create a light model of revitalizing industrial heritage using “industrial heritage + cultural creativity + night market economy,” both preserving historical memories and regenerating urban vitality through reusing land. It could be a model for the preservation of other historical sites in Hangzhou related to its legacy as a transportation hub.
Image References
All images not separately credited below filmed at location by Stories Rezoned team
- Anonymous. Entrance of Former Zhejiang Petroleum Company Xiaoshan Warehouse (Pre-Renovation). 1980s. China News Service, 15 Oct. 2021, https://www.chinanews.com.cn/2021/10/15/9910237.shtml.
- Anonymous. Aerial View of Renovated Yicang Art Museum (Former Xiaoshan Warehouse). 2021. Zhejiang News, 20 Oct. 2021, https://www.zjntv.com/news/202110/t20211020_1000201.shtml.
References
- Xiaoshan District People’s Government of Hangzhou. “Protection and Utilization Experience of Dongchao Art Park Historical and Cultural Block Promoted Nationwide.” 17 Nov. 2025, www.xiaoshan.gov.cn.
- Zhejiang Agricultural Materials Group. “Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Praises Zhejiang Nong Dongchao Art Park Project.” 11 Mar. 2025, www.zjamp.com.
- Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government. “From ‘Inefficient Space’ to ‘Valuable Land’! Decoding the ‘Renewal Path’ of Old Factory Revitalization.” 27 Mar. 2025, www.hangzhou.gov.cn.
- Hangzhou.com Real Estate Channel. “Following Urban Renewal: How Old Warehouses by Xiaoshan Old Railway Station Became Hangzhou’s New Landmark.” 26 Mar. 2025, house.hangzhou.com.cn.
- City Express. “Hangzhou Urban Renewal Special Plan Approved.” 26 Mar. 2025, hzdaily.hangzhou.com.cn.