Some 30 prominent historic areas in the city's suburban districts and Chongming County will be conserved and renovated into sightseeing venues for visitors attending the World Expo 2010, a government official said yesterday.
Many of the buildings within the areas will be kept and some of them may be leased to artists as cultural workshops including painting galleries and calligraphy studios, Gu Shiyang, a deputy chief planner with the Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau, told Shanghai Daily.
"We want to turn these heritage areas into major tourist attractions, particularly for foreign visitors when the World Expo 2010 is held," he added.
He said the bureau will present the list of some 30 to-be-conserved historic areas to the municipal government for approval by the year's end.
Although the list has not yet been finalized, two outstanding historic areas will definitely be included: Jinze Town in Qingpu District and Fengjing Town in Jinshan District.
Jinze is an ancient town known for its intricate and well-conserved historic bridges, some of which were built as early as the Song Dynasty (916-1279).
Prior to the planning, a batch of government officials and advisers - members of the Shanghai Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - inspected some of the ancient bridges yesterday. Tan Yufeng, head of the ground relics department of the city's Cultural Relics Management Commission, commented: "These bridges could be the city's earliest heritage bridges."
According to officials from the planning bureau, many of the factories, warehouses and unused buildings within the town will be gradually moved out, only leaving the picturesque bridges, villages and rivers.
Fengjing town, which is located at the conjunction of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, is home to many ancient houses and the former residences of contemporary renowned figures.
Two historic areas on Chongming Island might make the list.
Zhou hanmin, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said: "As the host of the World Expo 2010, we should not just tell people about the exciting technology of the future but also let them know about China's splendid history."