Luxury meets traditional Shanghai Shikumen architecture in Qeelin House, Hong Kong-French fine jewellery brand’s new store
Qeelin’s new Shanghai store is located in the Xintiandi district. It integrates modern fine jewellery into a traditional Shikumen building, blending heritage and luxury.
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Located within Shanghai’s vibrant Xintiandi district (新天地), Hong Kong-French fine jewellery brand, Qeelin’s new Shanghai store occupies a plot of Shanghai’s traditional Shikumen architecture (石库门).
- Address: Shanghai Xintiandi Flagship, Xintiandi North Block, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China (181 Taicang Road area)
- Address in Chinese: 麒麟之家 (Qeelin House) 上海新天地旗舰店, 上海市黄浦区太仓路181弄16号新天地北里01a-01 及 01d 单元（坐落于历史石库门建筑群内）
Distinctive stone frames clad the front entrances of traditional Shanghainese courtyard residential houses in the Xintiandi district.
Traditional Shikumen Architecture
Before modern luxury developments moved into the area, Shikumen (literally “stone warehouse gate”) buildings with distinctive stone frames surrounding the front entrances were traditional Shanghainese courtyard residential houses.
They formed the residential heartbeat of late 1920s Shanghai - celebrated for their brick walls, narrow alleyways, and ornate stone doorways. Today, these courtyard houses are occupied by high-end luxury brands and nightlife bars and clubs.
Rather than replacing or obscuring this rich history, Qeelin House integrates directly into the existing historical brickwork, creating a dialogue between the heritage of old Shanghai and modern fine jewellery.
Daylight enters through a linear skylight layered with a delicate lattice of repeated Wulu (gourd-shaped) motifs, casting shifting shadows along the walkway. Jewellery display cases feature a bespoke red-to-black lacquer gradient finish.
Housing Qeelin’s debut fragrance collection, "Along the Silk Road", this intimate Perfume Bar features a wall of rounded vertical columns continuing the bamboo motif, framed by a circular ceiling aperture and tinted bronze mirrors.
Designed with a warm, residential feel, the upper floor VIP lounge features soft curved seating, tactile fabrics, and a palette of warm neutrals accented with deep Qeelin red. An oval swivel jewellery display allows guests to adjust the lighting angle of each piece during private viewings.
Steve Leung Design
The project was designed by Steve Leung Design Group (SLD) under the creative direction of Mr. Mai Chongchaiyo, Chief Creative Officer at Steve Leung Hospitality, alongside lighting designer Tino Kwan.
The core objective was to create a homecoming for the brand by merging fine-jewellery retail with experiential design.
Serving as the architectural focal point of the upper floor, this Fine Jewellery Salon incorporates bespoke Shanghai wood marquetry, bronze-toned display elements, and a display showcase set beneath a circular ceiling feature with petal-shaped chamfered details.
Qeelin, a Hong Kong-French fine jewellery brand
Qeelin is a high-end luxury fine jewellery House founded in 2004 in Hong Kong by Chinese designer Dennis Chan and French entrepreneur Guillaume Brochard. The brand’s name comes from the Qilin (麒麟), an auspicious mythical hooved creature in Chinese mythology that symbolizes luck, protection, and prosperity.
A custom Sans Souci crystal chandelier designed to mirror sunlight filtering through a bamboo grove.
In 2013, Qeelin was acquired by the French global luxury group Kering (which also owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga), propelling it onto the global high-jewellery stage as the first Chinese fine jewellery house to open a flagship on Paris’s prestigious Place Vendôme.
Qeelin is best known for reinterpreting ancient Chinese cultural motifs and symbols through a sleek, playful, and contemporary lens for daily wear.
Transitioning between floors, the stairwell is lined with over 2,000 half-Wulu (half gourd-shaped) textured glass pieces set against tinted bronze mirror panels, creating an endless, shimmering field of motif reflections.
The brand gained instant international fame at its launch when acclaimed actress Maggie Cheung wore its signature Wulu (gourd-shaped) pendant at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Inspired by the Chinese bottle gourd, the Wulu symbolizes good fortune, health, and harmony.
Another celebrated jewellery line features Bo Bo, a fully articulated, teddy-bear-like panda pendant that comes crafted in paved diamonds and precious gems, often themed in playful costumes or regional motifs.
Finally, Qeelin is known for its custom red-to-black gradient lacquers, pivoting gemstone elements, and high-jewelry mechanisms that give classic cultural symbols modern movement and tactile versatility.