Building a bright future

Personal profile

Wang Jun was born in April 1978 in Benxi, Liaoning Province. She graduated from Shenyang Jianzhu University at the age of 24 with a degree in architecture and came to work in Shanghai following her husband. 

In the past 16 years, she has taken part in many important city projects including Metro Line 6, the barracks of Pudong International Airport, projects affiliated to the Donghai Bridge and a few sewage plants. Meanwhile, she has become a Shanghai resident. 

My story

I was born in April 1978 in a small village in Benxi, Liaoning Province, when spring sent flowers blooming in the beautiful dale. If you ask me what Shanghai meant to me before I came here, I would say it’s like the tall Oriental Pearl Tower. While the tip of the tower is quite inaccessible, Shanghai leaves one only in awe from afar.

I graduated with a degree in architecture from Shenyang Jianzhu University in July 2001 and came to Shanghai. That was because my boyfriend, who later became my husband, was to be working somewhere in this part of the country. I wished to settle here with him, but more importantly I wanted to explore my own career as an architect in this city which gathers the best architects from all over the country.

One afternoon when I was taking a stroll near Tongji University, I noticed the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute. Without a second thought, I went straight into the office building of the institute and knocked on the door of the director of the institute.

The director at that time was Wu Zhiguang, a top architect in China. He didn’t scold me for visiting him with no appointment, and instead gave me an interview right away. He promised to let me know the result in seven days, and after seven days I got the offer.

Now that I look back on it, I’m thankful that the reform and opening enabled Shanghai to draw professionals from all over the country to contribute to its development as a metropolis.

A good architect has to be equipped with solid knowledge in the trade, but good teachers are more important.

During the years when I worked for the institute, Shanghai was developing at a fast pace. I was lucky to have participated in a few important city projects including Metro Line 6, the barracks of Pudong International Airport, affiliating projects of Donghai Bridge, revamp of the Fuxing Road pump station and a few sewage plants.

One of my teachers was Sun Ying, an architect who presided over the design of Chifeng Road Station on Metro Line 4 which is a textbook model of elevated Metro stations in the city. I saw in her the resilience under pressure and innovative spirit that are so characteristic of Shanghai-educated architects. From her I also learned a lot of precious practical knowledge which I could apply to the design of future Metro stations and other kinds of municipal facilities.

Through study and practice, I got the title of intermediate engineer in 2007 and became a national first-class registered architect in 2010, which means that my career reached a level up.

As the business of architecture design broadened in the past years, I resigned from the institute and embraced new challenges. At the current company, I have participated in and presided over a few projects of residential and office buildings, shopping malls and schools, and each one of them helped me grow.

In the past 17 years, I have been a witness to the city’s super fast development. Our living environment has been cleaner and tidier with each passing day, transportation made easier, and the philosophy of social development updated. Shanghai the metropolis is becoming more and more beautiful and attractive bit by bit. As a new Shanghai resident, I feel very proud of the city.