The architectural and spatial design of the Jiu Guang Center is inspired by "the meandering stream in the valley". [Photo/CFP]

The long-anticipated Jiu Guang Center shopping mall recently opened to great fanfare in Jing'an district in East China's Shanghai.

Integrating shopping, leisure, entertainment and business, the Jiu Guang Center has a total commercial area of 267,000 square meters and houses over 400 retail, catering and lifestyle brands.

It is expected to contribute to the development of Shanghai into an international shopping center. 

The Jiu Guang Center was designed by UNStudio, an international architecture firm from the Netherlands, and Nihon Sekkei, a leading large-scale organizational architecture design firm from Japan.

The architectural and spatial design of the center was inspired by "the meandering stream in the valley", and the building forms a semi-enclosed space.