Riverside living rooms provide culture, friendship and views
A series of "cultural living rooms" have been built along a 22 kilometer stretch of the east bank of the Huangpu River in Pudong New Area.
The aim is to create a visitor-friendly riverside rich in cultural ambience.
Every kilometer, there stands a “Wangjiang Yi,” literally posthouse facing the river.
Built in the style of a cottage, with a glass façade, they are more than just a place for people to take a seat and have a rest. They also act like “cultural living rooms” for locals and “scenic spots” for tourists.
Of the 22 pavilions, three stand out.
The No.1 Wangjiang Yi is decorated like a book café. People can attend reading activities and make friends.
The No.2 Wangjiang Yi features bold lines, primary colors and simple styles. Photos of Pudong’s modern landmarks such as the skyscraper cluster in Lujiazui's financial hub and structures in the former Expo site are hung.
The site also features some futuristic touches. People can don virtual reality glasses to enjoy views of the Great Wall, as well as experience the massive battles between monsters and robots in Hollywood blockbuster “Pacific Rim".
Visitors can also make their own post cards and mail them with a specially-designed postmark.
The No.3 Wangjiang Yi has “two faces”, one for day and one for night.
In daytime, it is a kind of a “memory box” with items such as the original manuscripts of renowned writer Ye Xin, the chesspieces of Women’s World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun, and ballet shoes of celebrated ballerina Tan Yuanyuan, on display.
When the night falls, it becomes a broadcasting studio. In November, guests including Internet celebrities, renowned writers and financial experts will meet their fans there and make a program to be aired at 7pm from Monday to Saturday.
“Initially, we just wanted to build some public seating areas, but later we came up with new ideas and decided to inject some cultural elements,” said Huang Wei, director of Pudong’s Culture, Radio, Film and TV Administration.
“We hope these sites can become city’s landmark," she said. "Here people can walk around, enjoy the beautiful riverside and touch authentic Shanghai culture.”
Huang said the sites will be upgraded to cater to the changing demands of locals.
“Some residents said they hope every site will have a theme,” she said. “In future, they may be turned into an art salon, pop-up store of trendy food and exhibition hal l to showcase the latest technological trends.”
Pudong is stepping up its efforts to become a cultural highlight of Shanghai, featuring an arts and culture cluster. Under its grand scheme, the construction of five world-class cultural facilities will be completed in 2020.
The Pudong Art Museum, in the heart of Lujiazui and Expo Culture Park, is set to be the largest green space in urban Shanghai once completed.
The other three are near the Century Park.
The Shanghai Planetarium is designed to cover more than 38,000 square meters.
The east branch of the Shanghai Museum will cover 105,000 square meters, more than twice the size of the Puxi address which opened in 1996 in People’s Square.
The east branch of the Shanghai Library is designed like a “well carved jade” and will be a cultural oasis.
The three, together with the existing Shanghai Science and Technology Museum and Shanghai Oriental Art Center, will form a “cultural highland”.
