A delegation of ambassadors visited the waterfront of Yangpu on June 17, exploring how the old industrial site has gained a new lease on life through redevelopment.

The Huangpu River waterfront in Yangpu District is known as the birthplace of China's modern industries with the nation's first water plant, and the largest thermal power plant and soap factory in the Far East. It was once named by UNESCO as "the world's largest remaining riverside industrial belt".

Over recent years, the Shanghai government has revitalized the Yangpu waterfront by opening sidewalks stretching 45 kilometers on the banks of the Huangpu River between the Yangpu and Xupu bridges, with a dozen of China's earliest industrial heritages in the district preserved.

Selim Belortaja, the Albanian ambassador to China, said that what impressed him most is how the industrial and historical area has been transformed into a tourist attraction and has made people’s lives easier and more beautiful. “It's a big challenge for the local government and the central government.” He likes walking along the river on a sunny day in the evening.

In the City Construction Planning Exhibition Hall, the ambassadors watched a promotional video of the Yangpu waterfront. Maria Gustava, Mozambique’s ambassador to China, was quite impressed by the government’s philosophy of “cities built by the people and for the people”.

She said, “It takes into consideration the whole aspect like the ecological, traditional and cultural aspects. And the most important thing is that it brings the young people from the university to participate in the construction of this area. They are building the city for themselves to enjoy it. So this is what I could see here, which is really a very good model for the building of the city of the future, because the young people from the university and the innovation is part of it.”

(Maria Gustava, Mozambique’s ambassador to China)

Story/ Wang Xiaoyang, Wu Qiong

Video/ Wang Pengchong

Translation/ Zheng Qian