XUHUI District yesterday demolished the city’s earliest boating training site, set up over 60 years ago, along Huangpu River as part of plans to build a continuous riverside path to open to the public this year.

Bulldozers tore down buildings at Shanghai Boating Club on Longwu Road to vacate the land for redevelopment along the river’s west bank.

By the end of the year, trees and three lanes for walking, jogging and cycling will be built at the site covering over 40,000 square meters, according to Xuhui Waterfront Development Investment Construction Co, which is in charge of the redevelopment.

The site will become part of an ecological and recreation zone, stretching 1.5 kilometers along the river, said Tao Jian, deputy general manager with the company.

A 400-meter-long and 30-meter-wide “jogging woods” area was planned at the former site of the boating club. Joggers would be able to run through the woods while enjoying the riverside scenery, said Tao.

Some former training boats and sailboats would be kept in the woods as a memory of the training base. One club building that was designed by Tongji University would be preserved due to its “unique architectural style,” Tao said.

The club, belonging to the Shanghai Sports Bureau, was the largest professional boating training base in the Far East when it was built in 1956.

It has been described as the birthplace of China’s aquatic sports. Athletes taking part in rowing, canoeing, kayaking, yachting and motorboat sports were trained for decades at the club to take part in domestic and international races. Several world champions emerged from the training site.

When Huangpu River became overcrowded after the 1980s, the training site was relocated to the Dianshan Lake in Qingpu District.

Xuhui’s riverside, known as the West Bund area will have 8.4 kilometers of riverside paths with tall trees to be planted on both sides.

The West Bund is being designed to be on a par with such renowned riverbanks as London’s South Bank and the Paris Left Bank.

It is also part of the city government’s plan to open a total of 45 kilometers of uninterrupted pedestrian paths — half in Puxi and half in Pudong — between Yangpu Bridge and Xupu Bridge by the end of the year.