LVMH Signature Global Event Lights up Historic Zhangyuan

Les Journées Particulières opened in Shanghai last Friday (October 16), marking the start of its sixth global edition and the first collective edition of the event in China.

Shanghai’s historic Zhangyuan Garden set the stage for three days of encounters with artisans from the Group’s Maisons, offering visitors a rare opportunity to discover their creativity and exceptional savoir-faire firsthand.

Uniting 15 Maisons across four sectors — Wines & Spirits, Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, and Watches & Jewelry — the event, organized by French multinational conglomerate and luxury product group LVMH, featured curated exhibitions, live demonstrations and more than 20 masterclasses. Visitors could engage directly with artisans from different countries and experience the diversity and excellence of their savoir-faire.

Launched in 2011, Les Journées Particulières is one of LVMH’s signature global events. Under the theme “At the Source of Dreams”, this sixth edition kicked off in Shanghai, bringing together 45 Maisons across 71 venues in 13 countries over the same three-day period. In China, the program extended beyond Shanghai to Ningxia and Hong Kong SAR, with four exceptional venues taking part.

LVMH’s ties with China span more than 160 years, from Hennessy’s first shipment of cognac to China in 1859 to Louis Vuitton’s arrival in 1992. Launching this global edition from Shanghai reflects the significance of this longstanding relationship, highlighting the shared values of craftsmanship, creativity and the transmission of savoir-faire.

Ahead of the public opening, LVMH held an opening ceremony at Zhangyuan on Thursday (October 15), bringing together LVMH leadership, institutional representatives and artisans from its Maisons. A symbolic Chinese calligraphy ceremony marked the occasion, celebrating craftsmanship as a bridge between cultures and generations while reaffirming LVMH’s commitment to fostering cultural exchange and deepening its roots in China.

Zhangyuan, the host venue, stands as Shanghai’s largest surviving mid-to-late period shikumen (stone-gate) architectural ensemble. As a new landmark for global product premieres, its century-old shikumen heritage naturally endows launch events with a distinctive haipai cultural elegance.

Situated in the heart of the Nanjing Road W. “100-billion-yuan” business district, where three metro lines converge, Zhangyuan attracts a concentrated flow of high-net-worth clientele and forms a powerful synergy with surrounding top-tier commercial establishments. Anchored in Shanghai’s citywide strategy to build an international consumption hub, and fueled by the local community’s deep affection for haipai culture, the site cultivates a premium environment for the debut economy to flourish.

In November 2024, the Zhangyuan Dedicated Bonded Warehouse received official approval and licensing from Shanghai Customs, becoming a vital engine empowering Jing'an District’s debut economy.

As the first dedicated bonded warehouse within a heritage building in Shanghai’s commercial core, it pioneered several nationwide innovations: deposit-free goods inspection inside the warehouse, bonded display and trading in the city center, and “buy-and-take-away” services for high-end consumer goods.

Through its “one warehouse, three points” model, bonded functions are extended to flagship stores across the Nanjing Road W. area, driving the warehouse’s 2025 inbound and outbound bonded value to surpass its target by 160%. This framework has enabled unique “front exhibition, back store” experiences for events such as the Piaget “Elegant and Unruly” limited-time experience, and the V MUSE “East-West Splendor” collection and high jewelry exhibition.

Meanwhile, Zhangyuan’s centralized departure tax refund point serves as a city-wide refund hub, processing tax refund documents from across Shanghai. Equipped with bilingual services and smart terminals, it creates a distinctive “shikumen + tax refund” international consumption scenario, significantly enhancing the tax refund experience for overseas visitors.