The South Bund Soft Spinning Material Market, a popular destination for international visitors to Shanghai, has been renovated and is now known as the South Bund Custom Tailoring Center.

Established in the Dongjiadu area in 2006, the market attracted widespread attention on overseas social media in 2025. The influx of visitors created new business opportunities and underscored the need for improved facilities and services. In the first half of 2026, Huangpu district launched a renovation project to meet these growing needs.

A more comfortable shopping experience

The renovation has transformed the traditional fabric market into a more welcoming space where visitors can browse, get measured, order custom clothing, and relax while exploring.

The exterior now features a muted bronze-colored facade, fabric-textured canopies, and wooden benches along the sidewalk. A gentle ramp and tiered steps improve access, and pocket parks are also planned for the surrounding area.

Inside, the center's operator invested more than 1 million yuan (about $149,978) in upgrading its air-conditioning system. The building's electrical capacity has been expanded, and warm lighting has been installed throughout. Many shop owners have revamped their signs and displays of sample garments.

Better services for international visitors

Over the past year, the market has welcomed more short-term international visitors, together with Shanghai's international residents. Many of these customers want convenient tailoring services that fit their travel schedules, including faster turnaround times and overseas delivery.

To meet these needs, the center has introduced an expedited service, with some orders ready for collection as soon as the following day. It has also established a standardized international shipping service, with plans to set up a centralized shipping point near the entrance where staff can package and send finished garments overseas.

A currency exchange machine that supports six currencies has also been installed to make currency exchange more convenient for international visitors.

The center is also improving language support for international customers. More than 100 shop owners have attended evening classes organized by the Xiaodongmen subdistrict trade union, in collaboration with teachers from Shanghai International Studies University, to learn foreign languages.

The eight-session course covers practical English for everyday business, along with basic phrases in French, German, and Spanish. Lessons focus on describing fabrics and colors and communicating with international customers. Participants have also made bilingual Chinese-English shop signs from leftover fabric.

A wider network for custom-made fashion

In late September, the Greenland Bund Global Customization Center opened a few kilometers away, offering another destination for custom-made fashion in Huangpu.

One of its tenants is Wong Zung Tai, a time-honored tailoring brand founded in 1926. It carries on the tradition of Hongbang tailoring, a traditional Chinese tailoring technique recognized as national intangible cultural heritage. Hongbang tailors have a long history of making suits for foreign nationals. At the new center, Wong Zung Tai displays historic tailor's shears and pattern books.

Other tenants include the silk brand Thesilkinc and a Mei Lanfang-themed concept store featuring high-end clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, aged tangerine peel, and Chinese baijiu.

The fourth floor houses the Shanghai New Couture Center, which showcases high-end fashion, traditional crafts, and contemporary designs inspired by Chinese aesthetics. Its services include multilingual shopping assistance, international bank card payments, and tax refunds for departing overseas visitors.

Huangpu plans to develop a dedicated custom-tailoring destination that links the South Bund Custom Tailoring Center with Yuyuan Tourist Mart. The initiative aims to offer a wider range of options, from affordable everyday tailoring to high-end bespoke fashion, and to support the growth of Shanghai's custom-tailoring industry.

If you go

South Bund Custom Tailoring Center (南外滩量身定制中心)

Address: No 399 Lujiabang Road, Huangpu district

Greenland Bund Global Customization Center (绿地外滩全球定制中心)

Address: No 188 Wangjiamatou Road, Huangpu district

Sources: Shanghai Observer, WeChat account of Huangpu district government