Putuo turning into cultural hub of innovation
It will be all change in Putuo next year as several projects in the district get underway.
The city’s western gateway has released a full list of major projects in 2019 to help Putuo improve the living standards of residents in the district.
Construction will start on several commercial, office and housing complexes covering an area of 1.06 million square meters. About 60 percent of the new projects will be office buildings, 20 percent accommodation and the rest will be on commercial facilities.
Redevelopment
Wuning Innovation Development Axis
A new round of redevelopment will be carried out on both sides of Wuning Road to further develop the “Wuning Innovation Development Axis.” It aims to attract all kinds of innovative sectors and platforms and create a better ecological system for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Two new projects will be developed for the axis, including the renovation on the Huxi Worker’s Cultural Palace and a residential community on the site of Yujialong, a former shantytown in western downtown.
Construction has already started on the Metro Line 14 and 15 as well as an upgrading on the Wuning Road thoroughfare to improve traffic for the future axis.
A national robotic testing and evaluation center will be completed to help the development of Shanghai and the country.
Taopu Smart City
A number of projects will also start in Taopu Smart City, a business district featuring smart and innovation enterprises. They include Taopu Central Greenbelt, the largest downtown public greenbelt and Shanghai Thomas School, a science-oriented private boarding school.
A commercial and office complex will be developed on the former site of the city’s industrial giant Hero pen, which has been well-preserved to help retain the city’s industrial heritage.
Zhenru Subcenter
The ZhenruSubcenter, which will become a “public activity center” to serve the Yangtze River Delta region within five years, will see 256,000 square meters of residential high-rises and 235,000 square meters of modern office buildings being developed on the historical town.
Zhenru, formerly known as Taoxi, or peach creek, was founded in the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) after the construction of the Zhenru Temple. The town was later famous for the Tongchuan Road seafood market along with a number of markets for furniture and construction materials. Most have now been demolished.
Shanghai Science and Technology Financial Industrial Park
Next year the government also plan to revamp a project on Hongqi Village, once the city’s largest urban village.
A new branch of the Shanghai Children’s Library, an electronic sports arena and other cultural projects will be built for the Shanghai Science and Technology Financial Industrial Park, which is expanded from the Changfeng Eco-Business District.
Changshou Commercial and Business Zone
The “1,000 Trees” project is nearing completion and will become a major attraction for the Changshou Commercial and Business Zone along the Suzhou Creek. There will be up to 1,000 balconies filled with plants and trees. Four buildings, which contained China’s earliest private flour factory, opened in 1900, have been preserved as a museum, art gallery and restaurant.
Another riverside attraction is an electronic sports center at the Caojiadu area, which was once the city’s largest downtown flower market. It will be demolished for the e-sports blueprint.
Cultural and Life
New schools
A series of projects on education, health, culture and sports, elderly care and urban management is also planned in the new year to improve the life quality of Putuoresidents.
Apart from the Thomas school, construction and renovation has began on four schools and kindergartens in Putuo, including the Shanghai Ganquan Foreign Language Middle School and Taipingqiao Kindergarten.
Health care
A health service center is being built for the Wanli Community with 200 beds for patients. The center will have six stories above the ground along with two underground levels.
A new emergency department building will be built for the Putuo District Central Hospital on Lanxi Road, with 271,000 square meters of additional medical facilities. Putuo will also have 16 additional health service stations to support the existing 40 such stations within or near residential communities across the district.
Culture and sports facilities
To increase the number of cultural facilities, the new Shanghai Children’s Library will be inside a new urban park on Daduhe Road along Suzhou Creek. The new library, featuring a “floating pavilion” with a rooftop garden, will become a center to promote information, knowledge, reading and cultural heritage for children aged between 4 and 16.
The Huxi worker’s culture and art center, covering 120,000 square meters, is being developed from the landmark worker’s palace to become a comprehensive activity center, focusing on cultural innovation, education and training as well as entertainment. It will become the debut theater for new cultural works, gathering place for professionals and incubator for brands.
Old house renovation
The Putuo government also plans to renovate over 600,000 square meters of old residential communities in the Wanli, Caoyang, Changfeng and Zhenrusubdistricts.
The government last year improved living conditions in 555,000 square meters in old neighborhoods, including residential apartments where tenants still had difficulties using the toilet, bathroom and kitchen facilities.
Smart urban management
In another eye-catching project, the city’s initial “City Brain” urban management system in Putuo will be optimized to enhance the government’s urban management capability.
Around 100,000 Internet of Things devices, including sensors and monitors, have been put in place across the district. They are used in every aspect of urban management, from public security to market supervision and sanitation. Historical buildings have had sensors installed, so that damage can be detected as it occurs.
Data collected is transmitted to the “Putuo City Brain” system which informs officials of what’s happening through their mobile phones, part of the efforts to develop a smart city.