Community center unveiled for Huaihai Road M. commercial hub
The "Heart to Heart Community Service Center" is unveiled at 372 Danshui Road in Huangpu District.
A new community service center was inaugurated near Shanghai's Huaihai Road M. on Monday in an effort to create a 10-minute community life circle around the landmark commercial hub.
The "Heart to Heart Community Service Center" at 372 Danshui Road in Huangpu District opened to the public to provide convenient services for residents, nearby office workers and delivery personnel.
The site, once a streetside office of the Huaihai Road M. Subdistrict, was renovated into the service center based on both historic significance and practical considerations, said Lu Xiaojun, the Party chief of the subdistrict.
Danshui Road, with a history of 121 years, once hosted renowned literary figures such as Xiao Hong and Ai Qing, bearing witness to the birth of the"La Jeunesse," or "New Youth," and the Red and Black Publishing House. They served as the major platforms of the New Culture Movement, known as "China's Enlightenment."
The area is known as the origin of the Hengshan-Fuxing Road Historical Conservation Zone, the city's largest well-preserved compound of historic villas and houses.
Seniors learn flower arrangement at the new service center.
Spanning over 200 square meters, the newly unveiled service center includes amenities like a coffee shop, parent-child art studio, shared study room, community discussion hall and service stations.
The center also features benches, self-service medicine vending machines, electronic screens for taxi-hailing and phone charging stations.
Three adjacent traditional shops -- a fruit store, a meat market and a wet market -- have been retained and redesigned, with unified storefronts and signs. Collaborating with the popular lifestyle-sharing app Red, the shops are being promoted to attract younger customers.
Across from the development, a new community canteen offers a place for both the elderly and young residents to enjoy snacks, attend health lectures and witness live band performances. Outdoor dining options are also available.
Delivery couriers are welcome to the canteen and encouraged to voluntarily deliver meals to the local elderly residents.
Residents enjoy tea and snacks at a new community canteen near the center.
Hinichijou, or Bear Paw Café, which has gained wide popularity because it employs disabled staff, has opened a new branch at the center.
The café, along with several other nearby companies and organizations, such as the AIA Insurance, Sony China and Red, donated to the community foundation of the subdistrict to support the development of the center and other community services.
Meanwhile, the "Heart to Heart Community Festival" began at the community on Monday. Through a series of public activities, the festival aims to elevate the satisfaction of its residents and their involvement in community activities.
"We will develop the center into a showcase of neighborhood governance, a model for quality living and a new cultural landmark of the city," said Lu.
A new branch of the Bear Paw Café opens at the community center.
