“The water of the Yellow River comes from the sky”
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau gives birth to the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, the two mother rivers of Chinese people, and fosters their culture and wisdom. The Yellow River originates from the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province where the scenery with lakes and creeks dotted is pleasant and spectacular. And the mainstream of the Yangtze River originates from the Geladandong Peak of the Tanggula Mountains in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where there are tens of meters high, various shaped ice-towers, like crystal mountains rising into the clear sky, stretching for dozens of miles. Not only has created the two lifelines for Chinese people, but Qinghai also witnesses the rising star in the glasses industry- Eyes of the City.
It was on the International Optical Fair Tokyo, 2016 that I met a young gentleman from Xining, Qinghai Province – Mr. Jie Song, for his first time going abroad to purchase. He used to be engaged in costume designing, however, got in touch with the optics industry by chance, and got the national optometry certificate and started working in the glasses industry. Since Xining City is located on a plateau, the climate is very dry and the ultraviolet rays are particularly strong. But the customers do not pay much attention to the protection of their eyes, there thus are many high myopia customers. Unfortunately, there is a lack of suitable high-quality glasses frames. Finding that there were many hand-made glasses frames that were sold in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Mr. Jie Song turned his attention to Japanese brand glasses which is smaller, more suitable for Asian faces, also more suitable for processing and fitting the situation of high myopia. So, he grasped the business opportunity and opened the optical shop named “Eyes of the City”, implying the meaning to achieve “as far as the eye can see, it is where our ingenuity can reach” and pay tribute to the craftsmen for their creativity.
In a blink of an eye, Eyes of the city has been in business for four years. And in order to improve the customer experience, the location of the new store was chosen next to Xining People’s Park, in the hope that its quiet environment can slow the time down, as the bustle of the city makes it a rush for customers to choose and buy glasses. And the store is decorated with big floor-to-ceiling windows through which customers can see a full view of green plants to relax their eyes. The decoration of the new store uses various materials, such as marble, dark and light wood grain, etc., interpreting the contemporary design style. The marbled floor design is noble and elegant. In addition, a large number of wood materials are used to create a feeling of nature and a sense of warmth, providing customers with a peaceful and free environment and high-quality shopping experience.
Most of the brands sold in Eyes of the City are hand-made in Japan, including YELLOWS PLUS, MASUNAGA, MASAHIROMARUYAMA, EYEVAN7285, KAMEMANNEN, TAYLOR WITH RESPECT, H-FUSION, BJ CLASSIC, and JAPONISM, etc. which are the most popular brand all over Asia. Eyes of the City, compared with mainstream optical shops that dominate domestic low-end, medium-end, and fast-fashion brands, hold a very unique position in the market. Although Xining is just a second/third-tier Chinese city, where the customers’ brand awareness and purchasing power are relatively low and it is difficult for them to accept high-priced Japanese brands, Mr. Jie Song won groups of loyal consumers. And because of insisting the three principles: 1) make fine products; 2) make genuine products; 3) deliver the real service, he successfully explored the market with Japanese brand glasses. Additionally, Mr. Jie Song is also a seasoned veteran on social media, the Weibo account operated by him has achieved over 50 million views.
Address: No. 70-6, Building 3, No. 70 Shengli Road, Chengxi District, Xining City, Qinghai Province, China