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Creek bank to be lined with refit shikumen
12/7/2005 7:43

Zhang Jun/Shanghai Daily news

A 3-kilometer stretch along the southern bank of Suzhou Creek in Huangpu District will be lined with newly decorated shikumen alleys, warehouse galleries, museums and teahouses by 2010, according to a preliminary plan put together by the district government.
The city government will provide most of the funds to support the conservation of old houses with only commercial outlets - such as restaurants, galleries and stages - open to private investors.
Most residents of lane houses, or shikumen, in the area will not be forced to leave their homes, but extensive renovation will be conducted to shift the functions of various old constructions, mostly warehouses.
"We will not follow the Xintiandi development pattern," Chen Youhua, a senior engineer with the Shanghai Urban Planning Design Institute which created the plan, said yesterday.
"Our plan aims to restore the original living atmosphere of the region including original dwellings and old-Shanghai-styled street scenes."
He said such scenes include trolley cars, candlelight coffee bars and teahouses, laohuzao - an old-fashioned shop where people bought hot water - and antique shops.
Some warehouses will be turned into art salons and theaters.
He said the amount of investment will not be known until the plan is finalized.
The 3.2-kilometer south bank of Suzhou Creek, which extends from Waibaidu Bridge near the Bund to Chengdu Road N., includes hundreds of shikumen houses, extensive residential lanes and eight key warehouses.
A major historic shikumen site is Zunde Lane on 136 Xiamen Road which was constructed in the early 20th century and still accommodates 958 families.
According to the preliminary plan, the 3-kilometer area will be divided into three functional sections: a residential area from Xizang Road M. to Chengdu Road N.; a service and trade area from Xizang Road M. to Henan Road M.; and a tourist area near the Bund.
However, some architecture experts worried that the beautiful riverbank scenes will be affected by the existing residential high-rises along the bank.