Xiangxue is the most appealing metro station along Line 6 east of Botanical Garden (Longdong) as measured by retail activity and pedestrian volume. It has commercial and residential highrises around, with ground floor retail in the station area, but so do many other stations in the area. The difference with Xiangxue is the pedestrian experience and concentration of appealing restaurants and businesses in a dense pedestrian network around the station. While there are always those who prefer to be trapped or entombed in a big box shopping mall, far more prefer the freedom of the streets, which is something Xiangxue provides. The porous network of pedestrian streets and small roads leaves the other metro station areas in the dust. And this is based only on the north side of the station. A massive new development is currently under construction to the south of the station, including direct physical connections to the station, that will further entrench Xiangxue's status as the most attractive urban cluster in Luogang.