Putuo launches 3 tourist routes for CIIE exhibitors

Putuo District has prepared three sightseeing routes for exhibitors of the first China International Import Expo to learn about the district’s core industry, cultural heritage as well as its future development.

The guided tours, along with a series of investment promotion events, aim to further promote the business environment of Putuo and strengthen the exchanges between the district and the trade groups of the import expo.

The district along the Suzhou Creek is full of vitality and cultural delights. A 14.3-kilometer-long section of the creek, known as the “Mother River” of the city, runs through Putuo. The riverside region was once the birthplace of China’s national industry.

Putuo has also attracted many regional headquarters of companies such as METRO, Carrefour and NGS Supermarket Group.

The deliberately designed touring routes give visitors an opportunity to learn about the characteristics of Putuo in a single journey.

Route 1

The first route is designed to showcase the district’s technology financial industry.

It starts at the Shanghai Science and Technology Financial Industry Park, along the China blockchain application research center (Shanghai) and culminates at the Merger and Acquisition Financial Museum and the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Center of International Sourcing.

Participants can visit the Science and Technology Financial Industry Park and learn about technologies in cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and block chain, and feel Putuo’s unique charm of technology finance.

The park, the first of its kind in Shanghai, was expanded from the Changfeng Eco-Business District. Four major industrial zones in science and technology finance, Internet plus, intelligent technology and international education are featured.

Putuo has long had resources in developing science technology finance. The district is home to 17 major research institutes with national influence, such as the Shanghai Electrical Apparatus Research Institute (Group) Co and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, as well as two major universities — Tongji University and East China Normal University.

Thirty-four robotic industries and related companies are also based in Putuo.

Route 2

The second route is a cultural and creative journey of Changshou Bay along the Suzhou Creek. The place is home to Shanghai’s popular century-old temple, the Jade Buddha Temple, a contemporary art center, M50 cultural and creative park, and historical sites of the country’s earliest industries, such as the Shanghai Textile Museum and the Shanghai Mint Factory. The M50 Art Hub was one of the first and most notable cases of industrial heritage being converted for cultural purposes. Along Suzhou Creek, the former Union Brewery at 130 Yichang Road is now a popular garden complex and events venue. Over 100 galleries and studios are in operation, making it not only a thriving community of art-related businesses, but also a popular cultural attraction for local and international visitors alike.

On the south bank of Suzhou Creek, the three-story Shanghai Textile Museum offers visitors a glimpse of the city’s textile culture and achievements over the past 6,000 years. One of the rarest pieces in the museum is a needle made of animal bone, finely polished, showing that primitive man learnt to make simple clothes from animal skins and furs to cover his body in Neolithic times.

As a highlight attraction, the Mengqing Garden of the creek features three parts: the “big fish” island, an artificial wetland and an exhibition hall. The water of the creek flows through the park to get purified by the water plants and soil on the artificial island.

The expo participants can learn about the “18 Bays of Suzhou Creek” and get a feel of century-old industrial civilizations and the development of Putuo.

Route 3

The third route will showcase Putuo’s intelligence, eco-friendly campaign and innovation. The route starts from the Taopu Smart City Planning and Exhibition Hall.

Participants will be invited to visit the Taopu Central Greenbelt, Shanghai’s largest downtown public greenbelt to cover 500,000 square meters upon completion in 2020, where they can overlook Taopu Smart City being developed on the former site of the city’s earliest industrial plants.

Guests can learn about the creative, humanistic and ecologic features of the smart city. Cutting-edge technology involved in the project, such as its integrated pipelines, distributed energy resources and the wide application of Building Information Technology.

In near future, the smart city will focus on intelligent technology and headquarters economy to serve the Yangtze River Delta Region, along with a series of supportive policies. The initial phase of greenbelt, which features natural landscapes and its industrial heritage, has opened to the public.

Taopu was among the first batch of chemical industrial parks in Shanghai. Set up in 1954, the development of its industrial enterprises was at its peak in the 1980s when Hero pens and locally produced perfumes became popular merchandise in Shanghai.

The district government launched the construction of the Taopu scientific and innovation zone in 2014 to wipe out the polluting factories and implement a major face-lift for the industrial region.

The smart city project is expected to help Taopu, which literally means “peach river,” return to its original idyllic environment.