Digital city rises from former industrial center in Baoshan
An artistic rendition of the Nanda Digital City in Baoshan District.
Construction has started on more than a dozen key projects in Shanghai's northern Baoshan District to turn a once polluted industrial site into eco-friendly high-tech parks and communities.
The 17 projects are being developed as Nanda Digital City, which will rise from the former Nanda Industrial Site, notorious for soil and air pollution.
Agreements have been signed for another 52 projects with a total investment of 40 billion yuan. They include Shanghai's first synthetic biological industry park and a talent community for high-tech and innovation professionals to work on the site.
Nanda, covering a total of 6.3 square kilometers, has finished its comprehensive pollution treatment campaign, including land remediation, the Baoshan government announced on Sunday.
Construction also started on 14 urban infrastructure projects, including nine roads, two bus terminals, three greenery projects and three neighborhoods, marking the beginning of the grand transformation of the site.
Nanda was once the city's leather production and chemical engineering center with more than 200 companies and factories, but pollution and safety concerns meant the site was known as one of the city's most polluted.
Action against the problems began in 2009 and over 50 companies were shut down. Most of the land has since been remediated.
An artistic rendition of the Nanda Digital City.
Baoshan is cooperating with the Lingang Group to convert the area into an intelligent park and community with global architectural, urban planning and engineering firms.
More than 100,000 people are expected to make their homes in the area with 40 parks planned covering over 40 percent of the area. Branches of Shanghai's quality schools and hospitals will be built in the region, along with over 10,000 talent apartments and high-end commercial neighborhoods.
A 250-meter-tall landmark office building has been planned amid a central business district to be home to multinational headquarters, as well as leading firms in the digital economy, livestreaming, biomedicine, artificial intelligence and fintech.
The digital city will also become a pilot project for the city's digital transformation. Many smart applications will be initially tested in the area.
Elsewhere, four former industrial bases – Wujing in Minhang, Gaoqiao in Pudong, Taopu in Putuo and Wusong in Baoshan – have begun transformation projects.
Taopu Smart City will feature Shanghai's largest downtown greenbelts. Taopu was among the first chemical industrial parks in Shanghai.
Wusong, the cradle of China's modern industry, will become Wusong Smart City, with innovation parks, commercial facilities, residential communities and waterfront attractions.
Wusong was home to Baosteel Group and over 300 other metal works and chemical plants in the 1930s.
Striking architecture is planned.
