Revived workers' communities enjoy the spirit of 15-minute cultural life circle
Visitors take in an art exhibition at Centennial Park in Caoyang Community.
Shanghai's workers' communities have been reborn through art and cultural attractions during the city's efforts to create a 15-minute community life circle for citizens.
Thanks to a series of renewal campaigns from both urban planners and artists, residents in these old communities that popped up around the 1950s are able to watch an art exhibition, visit a museum or listen to a concert within a 15-minute walk from their home.
The communities were built to answer the call of Shanghai's then Mayor Chen Yi to "serve the working class" and mainly accommodate the city and nation's model workers.
After seven decades, the former pride and glory of what was once the city's "model community" has faded away, replaced by out-of-date neighborhood designs, inconvenient life facilities and a poor living environment.
The Caoyang Community in Putuo District, known as China's first workers' community, as well as the Siping Community in Yangpu and Wusong Community in Baoshan, have been listed among the showpieces of Shanghai's construction of the 15-minute community life circle.
A park created from what was once Shanghai's longest railway wet market has become a key attraction of the ongoing Shanghai Urban Space Art Season 2021.
The Centennial Park in Caoyang Community features skywalks and underground sports courts. It represents Putuo's answer to the theme of the event: "15-minute Community Life Circle: People's City."
A community activity center renovated from a shoe store in Siping Community.
The park stretches for a kilometer through the community between Caoyang Road and Zhongshan Road N. It was once Caoyang Railway Wet Market, a narrow and long market with pollution and noise problems bothering nearby residents.
Exhibitions, salons, concerts, fashion shows and art installations are being launched at the park to enrich the cultural life of residents.
Wu Wenjie, a senior resident living at Wusong Community in north Baoshan, a worker's community built for the nation's iron and steel production, has recently had a busy schedule filled with rich cultural activities.
He walks along the waterfront of Wenzaobang River every morning, plays basketball with his former colleagues and takes his grandson to a museum in the afternoon.
"I used to live with the factories and smoke. They've been replaced with new riverside paths, parks, museums and sports venues," Wu said.
A new riverside path along the Wenzaobang, known as the mother river of Baoshan, has opened to the public for free as part of the biennial art season.
The 1.4-kilometer-long waterfront region features a large swathe of preserved industrial heritage items. Some cranes and containers have been reconfigured into park attractions and to make space for startup firms and the studios of artists and cultural masters.
It is home to the world's only 3D printing museum, over a dozen artists' workshops and around 300 global companies engaged in 3D printing, intelligent micro manufacturing, virtual reality/augmented reality and artificial intelligence robotics.
Visitors walk along Wenzaobang River in Baoshan.
Hundreds of old containers have been converted into colorful offices for startup tech firms along the river.
More than 15 historical factory buildings have been preserved to become a convention center, cinema, theater, indoor sports fields and wedding halls. Canteens, cafes, flower shops and bakeries operate across the complex.
Peking Opera artist Shi Yihong and pianist Song Siheng have opened workshops in the park along with other famous local artists.
The Siping Community, another worker's community built between the 1950s and 1980s, has been filled with art installations, pocket gardens and community centers.
More than 20 professors from Tongji University have been appointed as community architects to help launch a renewal campaign in the community neighboring the university.
A new neighborhood center, renovated from a former shoe store, has been unveiled as the main site for the art season exhibition. Residents can watch movies, read books, rest or play with their children at the two-story center on Fushun Road.
Banners made of towels and bearing the art season's logo and slogan hang along the street. Visitors can follow the banners to explore the old communities. After the art season is over, the towels will be presented to residents as mementos.
