- Project: ang’s Qing Lobster · Bai Jia Hu Store
- Architect: IN.X Space Design
- Location: China, Nanjing
- Year: 2023
- Area: 1365 m2
- Photography: Zheng Yan
Yang’s Qing Lobster · Bai Jia Hu Store by IN.X Wu Wei is more than a restaurant — it is a cultural statement that intertwines gastronomy, architecture, and memory. Designed as a milestone for Yang’s Qing’s decade-long journey from a modest stall to an iconic Nanjing brand, the project redefines the dining experience by evoking Jiangnan’s landscapes, artistry, and traditions. With its signature cloud walls, skylit interiors, and immersive storytelling, the space creates an atmosphere where food, culture, and urban identity converge.
Project Overview
Founded in 2013, Yang’s Qing Lobster began as a small street-side stall and has since grown into one of Nanjing’s most beloved dining brands. The Bai Jia Hu store is a strategic flagship, showcasing the brand’s evolution into a mature, sophisticated identity.
Set in a standalone building, the restaurant occupies three levels: two above-ground floors and a basement with a sunken courtyard. Rather than designing a generic interior, IN.X Wu Wei curated a holistic brand experience, using architecture and materiality to express Yang’s Qing’s connection with the city, its people, and its culinary culture.
Architectural Vessel: Cloud Walls & Light
The design concept draws inspiration from Jiangnan’s iconic cloud walls. The building is unified in black and white, referencing vernacular architecture and embedding nostalgia into a modern dining space.
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Cloud walls: Structural and visual, they form backdrops for seating, guiding circulation while evoking village alleys.
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Skylights and “light tubes”: Metal-glass structures extend upward, flooding interiors with daylight that shifts across the walls like moving canvases.
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Vegetation and natural light: Integrated greenery softens boundaries between indoor and outdoor, making the building feel alive with the passage of time.
This approach transforms the restaurant into an architectural vessel of memory, balancing nostalgia with innovation.
Jiangnan Ambience: Dining as Cultural Immersion
Inside, the Jiangnan aesthetic is translated into diverse atmospheres across floors:
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First floor: A bar and varied seating arrangements framed by undulating walls, reminiscent of meandering streets. Guests dine in semi-enclosed alcoves, evoking the intimacy of villages while enjoying lobster in a contemporary setting.
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Second floor: Accessible by escalator beneath the sloping roof, the corridor reveals a hidden garden-like experience. Skylight installations and hanging art pieces create theatrical light and shadow, while bold red “Nanjing” characters infuse local pride.
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Basement: Private dining rooms open onto a sunken courtyard, eliminating the gloom often associated with underground spaces. Plum blossom carvings on door panels reference Jiangnan’s literary culture, adding intimacy and artistry.
Each level is carefully designed to balance openness and seclusion, encouraging diners to explore and engage with their environment.
Materiality & Artistic Expression
The interiors use a restrained yet textured palette:
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Brick, wood, and stone for walls and pillars, grounding the space in tactile authenticity.
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Glossy red bricks paired with grilles for warmth and permeability.
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Artistic installations of lobsters, crabs, and fruits to celebrate the brand’s culinary essence.
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Subtle detailing — plum blossom motifs, garden-like partitions, and delicate lighting — connecting design to shared cultural memory.
This multi-layered use of materials turns every dining space into a vignette of urban nostalgia and artistry.
Strategy First, Design Follows
The Bai Jia Hu store is not just a design exercise; it is a brand strategy manifested in space. By aligning Yang’s Qing with Jiangnan’s landscapes and urban heritage, IN.X Wu Wei created an environment where diners don’t just eat lobster—they experience Nanjing’s spirit.
Through its architecture, the project positions Yang’s Qing as more than a restaurant: it becomes a cultural institution, bridging taste, memory, and place.
Yang’s Qing Lobster · Bai Jia Hu Store by IN.X Wu Wei is a milestone in contemporary dining design. By blending Jiangnan’s architectural vocabulary with modern storytelling, the project transcends gastronomy to become a cultural experience.
From the interplay of cloud walls and skylights to the careful material palette and strategic brand narrative, the space embodies the essence of Nanjing’s urban memory. It is a restaurant, a landmark, and a living piece of cultural heritage — proof that design can elevate dining into an immersive journey of identity and place.
