SHANGHAI, China – The “Head of Dragon” -- that was how the late Chinese political reformist Deng Xiaoping envisioned Shanghai to be -- as the city’s economy, culture and prominence were overhauled. The city, also chosen as the engine of the country’s commercial resurgence in 1990, had strived to rival Hong Kong by 2010.
Shanghai is situated in eastern China, on the fjord of the Yangtze River facing the Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of 6,340.5 square km. with a population of more than 24 million people.
The city is considered as one of the world’s financial centers and China’s largest economic center. In 2017, its per capita GDP boomed to USD18,450. Total transactions in Shanghai’s financial market were at 1,428.44 trillion renminbi (RMB), with trading volume of various products ranking highest in the international markets.
According to Mr. Fu Jihong, deputy director general of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, the central government in Beijing is hoping that Shanghai would be the frontrunner in the country’s development.
“Shanghai is the vanguard of China’s reform and opening up, as well as the forerunner in the field of information-driven development. I said that Shanghai is China’s economic center and it is quite understandable that Shanghai plays a critical and essential role on the overall development of the country,” Fu said.
More than the skyscrapers and its bountiful economy, Shanghai also aims to be known as an eco-friendly city, and the next global technology and innovation hub.
Home of CPC’s 1st Meeting
On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the founding of CPC were held at 76 Xingye Road (formerly 106 Wantze Road) in Shanghai. A total of 13 delegates, including the first Chairman of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Mao Zedong, attended the meeting.
After all the struggle and hardships, the communist organization declared victory in 1949 and established the PRC.
Until now, aside from being one of the best local attractions, some CPC members visit the Xingye Road house to pay respect to the founding revolutionary leaders of their nation.
Technology, innovation hub
Shanghai’s government is striving to become a technology innovation center of global influence. In fact, the Zhangjiang Comprehensive National Science Center is spearheading China’s technology innovation.
A total of 493 projects were launched to commercialize the high-technology research achievement, digital information, biomedicine and new material last year.
Shanghai certified more than 21,000 technology trade contracts with a total value of more than 86 billion RMB, a 5.4 percent increase per year.
The construction of science education centers has also been prioritized in the city. The Shanghai and Technology Museum spearheaded a multi-level network of science promotion facilities, which were supplemented by many specialized and basic science education centers.
In 2017, a domestically-developed C919 jumbo jet made its maiden flight in Shanghai. That same year, 172 technology enterprises were listed on the technology and innovation board at the Shanghai Equity Exchange.
Ecological preservation
Shanghai is surrounded by vast waters. With a total of 48,000 watercourses in the city, water is really the key element nurturing the land and its people.
In accordance with President Xi Jin Ping’s idea on Ecological Civilization, the central government ordered Shanghai’s government to improve its water environment.
Jianfeng Song, executive deputy director and senior engineer of Shanghai Water Authority, said they took full responsibility and strictly follow President Xi’s call to preserve and improve the city’s water resources.
“We have also implemented the coordinated working mechanism between the city of Shanghai and different zones and districts of Shanghai and the coordinated mechanism between water banks and water environment to resolve key problems in the environment and implement our key responsibilities,” Jianfeng said.
Zhangjiang Town River
In Zhangjiang town, for instance, its people have been treating the water in three aspects in the past few years.
First, they have assigned river chiefs responsible for monitoring 322 rivers. High-ranking officials and the party leader of the community act as the first-level river chiefs, township officials as second-level river chiefs, and residents as third-level river chiefs.
According to Jin Xiaoping, vice manager of the Zhangjiang town government, a total of 107 volunteer river chiefs actively help monitor the rivers.
“All civil society, volunteers chiefs and government river chiefs, they all pay attention to the treatment of river pollution. And if there is case of river pollution in one of the rivers in Zhangjiang town, they can report these cases immediately,” Jin explained.
Secondly, Zhangjiang set a three-dimensional treatment mechanism (air, water and land) in preserving the rivers.
From the air, drones are used to oversee the river quality and report any case of water waste or water pollution. In the water, a river fleet preserves water quality, and a smart surveillance submarine is used to detect changes in water quality. On land, the resident-volunteer river chiefs strictly monitor the surroundings of the river.
“That is how we have greatly improved our efficiency in our work to detect pollution and improve the people’s satisfaction. Last year, for example a 100 percent of all our pollution cases reported are being handled efficiently and satisfaction rate reached 95 percent,” Jin said.
Thirdly, they tore down all illegal constructions and establishments along the riverbanks and treated waste at the water banks before treating the rivers.
They have planted more trees to beautify the riverbanks and built some recreational areas for local residents.
Building a better life
Shanghai has always given importance to realizing the “Better City, Better Life” goal. It remains committed to providing a happy living condition by building an affordable and conducive environment for everyone.
Xingcheng HuaYuan is one of the examples of a residential community located in the Linfen Rd Subdistrict.
The Xingcheng HuaYuan Community
Through the refined and updated management of the housing districts of Shanghai, the community aims to demonstrate how quality life is achieved.
Mr. Yu Linwei, secretary of the CPC Committee of the Linfen Community, said the environment of the community is holistic in its approach to ensure a high quality of living for its residents.
“One thing (that we) ensure (is) that they have a very good life after retirement. Good living, transportation, healthcare, and food, we provide services in all these four areas. And also, we give importance to the cultural side (of our residents), such as painting, playing of instruments. We have put together good personnel for various personalities to facilitate the needs of our residents,” Yu explained.
Ju Huanping, 51 years old, a resident of Xingcheng HuaYuan for 22 years, had seen the big improvement and transformation of the community in the past decade.
“Ten years ago, we have just started building this place. We only have basic facilities and infrastructures. Twenty-two years later, you’ll see the transformation of this place. Residents really feel that they are very happy living in this place,” Ju said.
Ju is hoping for the continuing support of the government and the community’s cooperation for the betterment of the whole society and the next generation.
“I hope with the support and care of the government, the community will become more digitalized, more connected and more inclusive. More senior residents may enjoy all the care and attention at their homes,” Ju added.
In fact, the 77,700-square-meter Linfen Rd Subdistrict also established a “Community Brain” Joint Command Center, which is a visual smart grid command platform collectively built by the Shanghai Data Exchange Corp. and the Linfen Rd Subdistrict for Big Data and Urban Management and Engineering Project.
The community is surrounded by almost 8,000 sensors in 23 areas to monitor and manage the safety and emergency needs of each resident.
Shanghai in 2035
By 2035, Shanghai envisions to become a globally excellent and an advanced metropolis, and an international center for economics, finance, trade, shipping, technology, and innovation.
The city will adhere to the national policy of resource conservation and environmental protection. Shanghai is committed to becoming a resilient ecological city with a strong adaptability and leading the world’s green, low-carbon and consistent development by improving its resources and infrastructure. (PNA)
