Daqing Department Store

Standing at 22 Huizhan Street, the Daqing Department Store occupies a complex psychological space in a city defined by heavy industry. The street name itself—referencing the "Battle for Oil" campaign of the 1960s—recalls an era of militant production and scarcity. Yet, this structure tells the story of what followed that struggle: the transition from survival to leisure.

Founded in 1983, the store originally served a population emerging from the strictures of a planned economy. Its physical evolution mirrors the rising fortunes of the "Oil City." The massive renovation completed in 2016 did not merely update the facade; it fundamentally altered the building’s urban function. By fusing two separate structures—Building A and Building B—into a contiguous 100,000-square-meter expanse, the architects created a sealed, climate-controlled city-within-a-city.

For over three decades, the building has acted as the city’s domestic center of gravity. While the oil rigs on the horizon represent the city's labor, the Daqing Department Store represents its reward—a warm, illuminated enclosure where the raw value extracted from the earth is converted into the texture of daily life.