Steve Leung Design Group Designs Qeelin House as a “Theatre of Light” in Shanghai’s Xintiandi Shikumen

Steve Leung Design Group (SLD) introduces Qeelin House in Shanghai’s historic Xintiandi Shikumen, marking a homecoming for the Chinese fine-jewellery House.

Steve Leung Design Group (SLD) has unveiled Qeelin House, a 294-square-metre, two-storey fine-jewellery boutique set within Shanghai’s Xintiandi historic Shikumen fabric. The project marks a homecoming for Qeelin: a Chinese fine-jewellery House that reinterprets Oriental cultural symbols through a contemporary lens, now returning to the architectural language of old Shanghai. Led by Mr Mai Chongchaiyo, Chief Creative Officer at Steve Leung Hospitality, Qeelin House is conceived as a contemporary “Theatre of Light”. The design brings Qeelin’s playful fusion of Oriental symbolism and modernity into dialogue with the Shikumen setting, using light, movement and carefully framed moments of discovery to shape the client experience.

“We envisioned Qeelin House as a new benchmark for fine-jewellery retail, where design artistry and the art of experience become one,” said Mai Chongchaiyo. “The arrival carries a quiet sense of occasion, allowing clients to enter Qeelin’s world with anticipation and ease. Each space is designed to give every creation the attention it deserves, making every encounter considered, personal and memorable.”

A Homecoming to Shanghai Heritage

Qeelin House brings brand and place into a single narrative. Just as Qeelin transforms auspicious Chinese motifs into modern expressions of personal style, SLD honours the existing Shikumen fabric while reimagining it for contemporary retail. The journey begins with a sculptural gateway shaped as a Wulu, the gourd motif that is Qeelin’s signature symbol, establishing a ceremonial threshold between the street and Qeelin House. Behind it, red-to-black vertical bars layer against the historic Shikumen wall, their rhythmic intervals revealing the weathered brickwork beyond. The composition brings that signature symbol and the architectural memory of old Shanghai into one frame.

Internationally acclaimed lighting designer Tino Kwan conceived the overall lighting scheme, choreographing illumination from day into evening to bring the jewellery into focus, guide moments of discovery and reveal the space’s changing character.

Inspired by the swaying bamboo favoured by Qeelin’s signature panda character, Bo Bo, curved timber walls wrap the central retail display area to create a warm and rhythmic setting for discovery.

A high-gloss red lacquer ceiling serves as a vivid focal point, anchored by a sculptural crystal chandelier by Sans Souci.

A Layered Journey of Light and Discovery

The ground floor unfolds as a fluid retail landscape, entered beyond a Wulu-curved door handle. Curved timber walls, inspired by the bamboo favoured by Bo Bo, Qeelin’s panda character, bending in the wind, wrap the central retail and display zones, creating a warm, rhythmic setting for discovery. A high-gloss red lacquer ceiling creates a vivid focal point above the central display area, where a sculptural crystal chandelier by Sans Souci evokes sunlight filtering through a bamboo grove and draws the eye through the interior.

Along the right-hand side of the retail floor, a linear skylight is veiled by a delicate lattice of repeated Wulu motifs. It draws daylight deep into the space, casting shifting tracery of light and shadow across the journey. Throughout the space, jewellery showcases are finished in a bespoke red-to-black lacquer gradient, creating individual viewing moments that allows each jewellery creation to remain in precious focus.

Under soft illumination, a wall of rounded vertical columns at the Perfume Bar continues the bamboo narrative, creating a warm, rhythmic backdrop to display the fragrance collection.

In the Wulu infinity stair hall, over 2,000 half-Wulu textured glass pieces set against tinted bronze mirror panels create an endless field of reflections, transforming the stair into an immersive passage between the retail floor and the private spaces above.

Further within the ground floor, the Perfume Bar presents Qeelin’s debut fragrance collection “Along the Silk Road”, extending the House’s world of symbolic storytelling into scent. Its softly illuminated wall of rounded vertical columns continues the bamboo narrative, presenting the fragrance collection in a warm, rhythmic composition. A circular ceiling aperture and tinted bronze mirror panels complete an intimate sensory setting for scent discovery.

The journey continues through the Wulu infinity stair hall, where over 2,000 half-Wulu textured glass pieces are set against tinted bronze mirror panels. Their repetition and reflection create an apparently endless field of motifs, transforming the stair into a sculptural passage from the retail floor to the more intimate spaces above.

A Private World of Craft and Brilliance

The first floor brings together the Fine Jewellery Salon and VIP Lounge for private consultation and viewing. At its centre, a display showcase sits beneath a circular ceiling feature, framed by
petal-shaped chamfered details, forming the spatial centrepiece, creating a focused setting for encountering Qeelin’s exceptional creations.

Bespoke Shanghai wood marquetry, bronze-toned display elements and a high-gloss red accent bring warmth and Qeelin’s distinctive visual language to the salon. Alongside it, the VIP Lounge introduces a more residential retreat through curved seating, tactile finishes and a palette of warm neutrals and deep Qeelin red. Its oval swivel jewellery display allows clients to adjust the angle of each piece for a more personal and tailored experience.

Bespoke Shanghai wood marquetry, bronze tones, and high-gloss red accents bring warmth to the Fine Jewellery Salon while echoing Qeelin’s distinctive visual language.

The VIP Lounge creates a residential retreat with curved seating, tactile finishes, and a palette of warm neutrals paired with deep Qeelin red. An oval swivel jewellery display allows clients to adjust the viewing angle of each piece for a tailored, personal experience.

Beyond retail, the design gives Qeelin a physical home for its brand story. Qeelin House translates the House’s symbolic language into a complete spatial experience, moving from public discovery to private engagement, and supports the discretion and personal service integral to fine-jewellery clienteling. Qeelin House marks the latest chapter in SLD’s long-standing collaboration with Qeelin, a relationship that began with the brand’s first boutique in Hong Kong and has continued through selected projects in Shanghai and Tokyo, and reflects a shared approach to retail design that brings brand identity, local context and the client experience into a cohesive whole.

For more information on Steve Leung Design Group, visit here.