Good spring start for eye-catching projects in downtown Shanghai
Construction work was in full swing over the weekend on multiple key projects in Shanghai's downtown districts after the weeklong Spring Festival holiday.
Bulldozers and pile engines rumbled across Shanghai on the first workday of the Year of the Rabbit reflecting the Chinese proverb "the whole year's work depends on a good start in spring."
New riverside parks, malls and office high-rises are rising along the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek.
Historical structures, such as the city's earliest electrical machinery plant and former home of the Shanghai Municipal Council near the Bund, will finish their restorations and reopen to the public.
The iconic Century Plaza on Nanjing Road will also be completed this year to drive the commercial upgrade of the pedestrian mall, known as China's No. 1 commercial street.
An artistic rendition of the Yangpu Riverside Center in Shanghai's Yangpu District.
Yangpu Riverside Center
The former site of the city's earliest power station auxiliary equipment plant will be renovated into a landmark commercial and office complex along the Huangpu River.
The historical workshop, covering 17,000 square meters, will be preserved and converted into a conference, art and exhibition center. China's first thermal power unit boiler was once manufactured in the workshop.
The project will become a key part of the Changyang Belt on the Yangpu waterfront, known as the "cradle of China's modern industry." The industrial relics of the nation's first water, electricity, shipbuilding and textile companies have been preserved and redeveloped.
The belt, the city's major online new economy ecological park, will feature riverside gardens, preserved industrial heritage, apartments and backstreet markets.
Construction started on 26 projects in Yangpu District over the weekend, with a total investment of 30 billion yuan (US$4.42 billion). Agreements on another 25 projects on new material, new energy and information technology, were also signed.
An artistic rendition of the Columbia Circle phase II in Changning District.
Changning Columbia Circle phase II
An expansion has started on the nearly century-old Columbia Circle, a preserved commercial compound in Changning District, and it will fully open to the public in 2024.
The new phase of the project, on the south of the existing compound with a total construction area of 24,000 square meters, will include five main buildings for office and commercial purposes.
The compound will feature new buildings in grey and white colors along with vertical greenery on the façade to accord with the style of the initial phase of the project.
The site, on Yan'an Road W., was a gathering place for Americans from 1927 to 1942. It became the former site of the Shanghai Institute of Biological Products after 1949. Many of the nation's earliest vaccines were produced on the site.
Meanwhile, Changning plans to renovate over a million square meters of old residential communities this year. About 150 elevators will be installed on residential buildings to make it more convenient for the elderly and physically challenged, the district government said.
A cruise dock along Suzhou Creek.
Biggest riverside park
The biggest riverside park along Suzhou Creek will be built in the Changfeng area of Putuo District.
The park, covering 350,000 square meters, equivalent to about 50 standard football pitches, will include sports and exercise facilities, preserved industrial heritages, cruise ship docks, children's parks and ecological gardens.
It will become a key part of the 21-kilometer-long Suzhou Creek waterfront path in Putuo. Riverside attractions along the path include the Suzhou Creek Industrial Civilization Museum, the Tian'an 1,000 Trees mall and the Shanghai Children's Library.
A total of 26 service stations will be built along the path to offer various services to residents and tourists.
A cycling race was launched along the riverside path over the weekend to invite participants to enjoy the riverside scenery of parks, docks and preserved chimneys along the route.
A new half marathon race along the path, which features the city's early industrial heritages, will also be unveiled soon. The new event along the creek will highlight the comfortable living environment as well as the vitality of Shanghai, according to the Putuo government.
A service station along Suzhou Creek.
