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Hongkou District is reshaping its future
From:Shanghai Daily  |  2020-11-20 08:29

Stretching 3.4 kilometers along the bank, the North Bund stands at the junction of the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek. According to an earlier publicized master plan, the area will be built into a global central activity zone and an international commercial block, forming a golden triangle together with the Bund and Lujiazui.

Focusing on the vision of “building itself into Shanghai’s top central activity zone in the new era,” the North Bund will be developed into a top urban core region, central activity zone and a world-class parlor of Shanghai.

According to the general layout of “one core plus two areas,” (one core: core CBD; two areas: the dynamic Hongkou port area (including some parts of the historic Bund area) and the historic Tilanqiao area), about 8.4 million square meters of new construction space has been planned on the waterfront and a 480-meter-high landmark, the tallest on the west side of the Huangpu River, will be built.

Around the new landmark and Sinar Mas Plaza, two clusters of skyscrapers will emerge, one between 300 and 350 meters in height and the other between 200 and 250 meters, to create a new image of the central activity area which boasts not only distinctive features but harmony and order as well.

Accordingly, the number of Grade A office buildings on the North Bund will be increased from the existing 15 to 40, which can house nearly 100 global and regional headquarters of multinational enterprises, thus making the North Bund one of the most densely packed areas of high-grade buildings in the world.

The waterfront aims to attract the headquarters of financial and shipping enterprises with national and global influence, international organizations and functional institutions, continuously improve the level of international development and the ability of overall allocation of resources, and become an important engine and brand-new business card for Shanghai’s construction of “Five Centers” and “Four Major Brands.”

“The North Bund is an unparalleled area in Shanghai. Elaborate analysis and design of each inch and square is required in the North Bund to achieve the best functional potential for Shanghai,” Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang said.

The new round of planning on the North Bund is widely believed to be the city’s largest project in terms of scale and investment after the start of development of Pudong’s Lujiazui financial hub in 1990.

The North Bund is already home to more than 1,700 financial companies, with 5 trillion yuan (US$756.3 billion) of assets under management, and more than 4,700 shipping service companies and 39 shipping-related organizations.

And global investors’ enthusiasm for the North Bund did not abate after the COVID-19 outbreak. More than 70 of the world’s renowned developers and enterprises have held talks with the government about the North Bund and around 200 projects with total investments exceeding 100 billion yuan have been signed for the waterfront development, said Wu Xinbao, Party secretary of Hongkou District.

In late June, investors from around the globe and foreign consuls were invited to a global promotion conference to learn about the North Bund’s new round of development.

Nearly 200 representatives from consulates and chambers of commerce in Shanghai, world-renowned luxury goods companies like Louis Vuitton and Richemont, and commercial real estate developers such as Tishman Speyer attended the event.

The North Bund will continue to build itself into a commercial and trade center in the north of Suzhou Creek, and become a more modern, fashionable and welcoming international commercial district and a “world-class waterfront parlor” with high-level commerce, high-quality consumption and beautiful landscape.

The North Bund also boasts an efficient and convenient city transportation system. Three Metro lines run through the area: Metro Line 10 in the west of the North Bund, Metro Line 4 in the east and Metro Line 12 connecting the east and west of the area. Metro Line 19 is under construction.

And via three cross-river tunnels, namely, the north-south Dalian Road Tunnel, Xinjian Road Tunnel and the Bund Tunnel, the Bund and Lujiazui in Pudong can both be conveniently accessed.

In addition, the 19.1-kilometer cross-region Beiheng Passage is also under construction, which will link districts of Changning, Putuo, Jing’an, Hongkou and Yangpu upon completion.

Hongkou is also committed to building a world-class waterfront ecological green space and public activity space on the North Bund. About 30 public service facilities with a total area of 400,000 square meters have been planned for construction.

The newly added space will be mainly located within 600 meters from metro stations, forming a three-dimensional activity grid smoothly connected with metro lines.

Also, Hongkou District plans to rebuild and repair the historical buildings in the North Bund area.

The “Ark on the Sea” will be created around Tilanqiao. It will include the century-old Tilanqiao Prison, formerly known as Ward Road Gaol, the Xiahai Temple, dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and neighborhoods that once harbored Jewish people fleeing Nazi persecution. The section featuring the history of Shanghai’s Jewish refugees will be developed as a new cultural landmark.

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