Hongkou Indoor Stadium to reopen after renovation
A new professional sports floor with better elasticity is installed at Hongkou Indoor Stadium during the renovation.
A major indoor stadium in northeast Shanghai will reopen to the public next week after renovations to eliminate termites.
The Hongkou Indoor Stadium, covering some 1,000 square meters, had its wooden floors replaced during the two-month renovation. After its reopening from May 1, it will serve as a training site for young sportspeople and an exercise venue for nearby residents.
The stadium on Dongtiyuhui Road was built in 1991 for various sports games, events and art performances. It was the home court for the city's table tennis team during the China Table Tennis Super League last year.
"Nearly 100 sports events are held in the stadium annually and it receives over 100,000 people," said Lu Jiawen, the Party secretary of the stadium.
The stadium opens to the public when no special games or events are being held, supplying courts for basketball, badminton, volleyball and table tennis.
After nearly three decades of operation, the stadium became infested with termites and suffered weathering, the district government said.
The renovation cost 1.07 million yuan (US$169,720) and included replacing the old floor with a new, professional sports floor with better elasticity. Insecticide has been sprayed to prevent another bout of termites, Lu added.
A worker sprays insecticide at Hongkou Indoor Stadium to prevent termites after ripping up the old floor.
The stadium is also known as the Chin Woo Gymnasium, after the Chin Woo Athletic Association, in an attempt to revive the kung fu spirit embodied by martial arts master Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910).
Huo, admired as a national hero for defeating foreign fighters in highly publicized kung fu bouts, founded the Chin Woo association in Shanghai in the 1900s.
Meanwhile, a batch of parks and greenbelts in Hongkou are to be built or expanded to improve the ecologic environment of the city's major downtown residential district.
The Jiangwan Park on Xinshi Road N., covering over 10,000 square meters, will be renovated to add more vine plants and flowers along with a new playground for children.
Kunshan Park, built in 1893, will be expanded to restore its English flavor. The original park was encroached on by nearby constructions such as an elementary school and stores. The expansion will add some 3,000 square meters to the park.
Upon completion, the park will open around the clock, and will feature a 120-year-old tree and free admission.
Greenbelts will also be built on Dalian and Dongchangzhi roads to address residents' running and leisure requirements, the government added.
