Action plan to make Shanghai a cultural metropolis

Shanghai has put in place a three-year action plan to make the city an international cultural metropolis.

The city government wants to achieve three goals to make the Shanghai Culture program a success. These are called Red Culture, Shanghai-Style Culture and Jiangnan Culture.

Red Culture concentrates on Shanghai as the birthplace of the Communist Party of China. Shanghai-Style Culture emphasizes the city’s creativity and open attitude to different cultures. Jiangnan refers to south of the Yangtze River, and Jiangnan Culture revolves around traditional cultural heritage.

Twelve special actions were highlighted in the plan, such as exploring and telling the story of Shanghai as the birthplace of the CPC, encouraging art creations of high quality, enhancing public cultural services, and safeguarding outstanding traditional culture.

Forty-six detailed plans are set out to support the 12 special actions, such as exploring CPC-related historical resources, accelerating media integration and transformation, perfecting a grassroots public cultural facility network, and improving protection of cultural relics and intangible cultural heritages.

Over the next three years, the Museum of the 1st National Congress of CPC will be sited near the historical site of the Congress in Huangpu District.

Cultural landmarks will be completed such as the Shanghai Grand Opera House, Shanghai Literature Museum, and Pudong branches of Shanghai Museum and Shanghai Library.

Historical landscapes like lanes of shikumen housing, modern industrial heritage architecture, and residential areas where Jewish refugees from Europe found safety before and during World War II will all be protected. In total, 7.3 million square meters in Shanghai will come under such protected status.

A public cultural service network will be created to enable residents to reach an appropriate site for cultural activities within a 10-minute walk downtown and within a 15-minute walk in suburban areas.