Why Did a European Style Coffee Shop Inside a Hospital Cause a Stir?

A European style coffee shop inside Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital became a popular backdrop for social media photo shoots, with the topic drawing steady attention online. Citizens reported that the clustered shoots disrupted normal medical order, and the hospital said it will strengthen management.

Consumers must enter the hospital to reach the shop, which occupies a standalone building with a retro facade that echoes the original hospital architecture. The bench opposite has been promoted as a photogenic spot. The hospital will discourage commercial photography, long occupation of patient rest seats, and large equipment such as fill lights.

Recently, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital became a popular photo spot on social media, with many "influencers" using a European-style retro coffee shop inside the hospital as a backdrop, and related topics have continued to gain attention. Many citizens have reported that the clustered photo shoots have disrupted normal medical order. Why has this coffee shop become a photography destination? How have the hospital and the shop responded? The hospital said it will strengthen management and discourage commercial photography, long-term occupation of patient rest seats, and the use of large professional equipment such as fill lights, in order to ensure normal diagnosis and treatment activities.

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Recently, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital has attracted many "influencers" to gather and shoot because of a European-style coffee shop opened inside the hospital. In response, many citizens have criticized such behavior, saying it has already hindered normal medical visits.

By searching related keywords on social media, one can find that this hospital coffee shop is quite popular. Not only are new "photo-worthy notes" posted every day, but the topic #Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital West Campus# has also been almost flooded with similar content.

"Shanghai's recently very popular First Maternity and Infant Hospital" "Has photo-taking now become so competitive that it has reached a maternity hospital?" "Who would believe this is a coffee shop inside a hospital?" "Not in France, but in Shanghai—a coffee shop hidden in a hospital"

"This coffee shop would be boring if it were outside, but it's unusual because it's inside a hospital."

It is reported that the coffee shop is located inside the maternity and infant hospital, and consumers must first enter the hospital to enter the shop. The reason it has become a photography hotspot that "influencers" rush to is that its facade adopts a European retro decorative style and echoes the original architectural style of the hospital. In addition, its advantage as a standalone building makes it an excellent condition for creating photo-worthy effects. For example, the bench opposite the coffee shop has been strongly recommended by influencers as an ideal spot that is "good for photos" and "photogenic."

From pictures taken by passersby, most of these bloggers use the coffee shop as a background, or sit on benches in the hospital to frame their shots. Some also bring piles of clothes and professional equipment such as reflectors, fill lights, tripods, and makeup bags, and invite photographers specifically to come here to change outfits and shoot.

In order to take satisfactory photos, every blogger dresses up carefully in advance, and people can occasionally see someone in formal attire "standing by" here. Not only that, some online clothing stores also use photos taken by models in front of this coffee shop for product display.

In short, as long as one walks into this location at Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, one can see a group of people lively taking photos there, and this lively scene has also drawn complaints from citizens coming for medical treatment.

Some netizens said that a hospital should be a quiet and orderly public place, a place for patients to receive treatment and recover. The seats in the hospital are also meant for people to rest and wait, for example, so patients or family members can take a short rest while queuing for treatment or waiting for test results, rather than being occupied by "visitors" as photo props, as shown in the posts.

Some also mentioned that Shanghai clearly has no shortage of similar European-style buildings, so there is no need to check in at a hospital to take good-looking photos. For citizens who come to the hospital because they have medical needs, this behavior is undoubtedly adding trouble.

According to Jiupai News, on October 14, a reporter contacted the manager of the coffee shop about the matter. The manager said they opened the shop on January 10 this year with the purpose of serving medical staff, patients, and their families, "so that when visits take too long, they have a place to wait and rest."

The manager said the coffee shop's decoration was designed by him personally, reviewed by the hospital, and unified into a European style. Regarding becoming a check-in spot for "influencers," he said that recently there have indeed been more people coming than before, mainly for photography, and that overall the shop's business is average, and so far no complaints have been received. "Our shop mainly serves patients. We do not recommend photography, and we hope it will not affect the hospital's normal medical environment."

As the incident fermented online, this afternoon Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital responded: After the overall renovation of the west campus, the beautiful environment attracted some citizens to come and take photos, and the hospital has been paying attention to this. As a public maternity and obstetrics specialty hospital, providing professional diagnosis and treatment services, a beautiful environment, and a good medical experience for pregnant women, postpartum women, and patients is our most important responsibility.

Going forward, we will also continue to strengthen management on the basis of earlier management efforts, and discourage commercial photography, long-term occupation of seats provided for patients to rest, and the use of large professional equipment such as fill lights, so as to ensure the conduct of normal diagnosis and treatment activities at the hospital and provide patients with a more comfortable medical experience.

Image source: online screenshots

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.