Micro-tourism routes highlight story of district's Party heritage
Mengqingyuan Park
To help the public better learn the revolutionary history of Huxi and Putuo, the district culture and tourism bureau has launched several micro-tourism routes with Spring Travel.
Apart from the memorials of the workers' school and Gu Zhenghong, tourists and citizens can tour the industrial heritage of Putuo, mostly along the Suzhou Creek.
Many people were invited to take part in a tour this year on World Heritage Day on June 12.
The journey started from the M50 art hub on Moganshan Road, which was once the British New China Textile Co, the former site of the Foo Sing Flour Mill and the Tian'an 1,000 Trees, a new commercial complex to open to the public soon.
The flour mill, which became the Shanghai Flour Factory in the 1960s, was owned by brothers Rong Zongjing and Rong Desheng – China's "kings" of flour and textiles.
The key national company once stood among the factories owned by foreign businessmen in the region.
The Shanghai Beer Co, a heritage structure designed by famous architect Laszlo Hudec who created many iconic Shanghai buildings, is now part of the Mengqingyuan Park – a riverside park promoting environmental protection.
The former site of Foo Sing Flour Mill
The tour moves on to the Shanghai Mint Company and its museum as well as the former site of the Yichang Road Fire Station and the site of the Kiangsu (Jiangsu) Chemical Works.
The waterfront section known as Baocheng Bay was home to a fifth of China's earliest textile factories, dating back to the 1920s.
After 1949, the Shanghai No. 1, 6 and 7 cotton factories were set up on the waterfront, along with a military warehouse for quilts and uniforms. The site was dubbed the "cradle of China's textile industry."
The X Tower Park was developed from a century-old military warehouse, with most of its main structures preserved.
Meanwhile, a singing competition to celebrate this year's centennial of the CPC was held in Putuo. Many classic revolutionary songs were presented to celebrate the Party's history and the overwhelming changes the country has seen.
Thirty singing groups with over 2,000 singers from all walks of life took part.
They sang the "Graduation Song" of Nie Er (1912-1935), the composer of China's national anthem, "The March of the Volunteers," to show the spirit of China's patriotic students.
Other classic songs such as "Song of Guerrilla," "Tunnel War," "March of Machetes" and "Defend the Yellow River" were also performed.
The district's culture and tourism bureau has also hosted a calligraphy and art exhibition and a stage drama to celebrate the centennial.
The exhibition at the Putuo Cultural Center runs through July 11, and features more than 600 artworks and collections from local artists, collectors and art lovers.
The drama "Sons and Daughters of Suzhou Creek" is running at the Putuo District Library, chronicling the redevelopment of the historic industrial relics along the Suzhou Creek.
