The sum of its parts ... made greater
By Wang Yanlin |
June 16, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HUANGPU and Luwan, two districts located at the heart of Shanghai, have been merged into one by city officials who say the move will help streamline development in downtown core areas and allow more focused deployment of resources.
The new larger district, to retain the name Huangpu, has been earmarked for development as a major financial and commercial area.
Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng said last week the merger will enable the city to better allocate resources, especially along the banks of the Huangpu River.
Government officials are touting the change as a means of reducing operational costs, since fewer city officials ostensibly will be required to administer the new district. Furthermore, important decisions on development will be made more quickly.
"The new district is home to an array of Shanghai's golden assets," said Huang Renwei, vice president at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Once combined, their value will shine even more."
Tourists and newer residents of Shanghai may not be familiar with the name Luwan, but they have certainly trod the district's streets. It's home to the stylish Huaihai Road shopping area and the trendy Xintiandi area. It was the birthplace of the Communist Party of China 90 years ago, and the showcase for business pavilions at the 2010 World Expo.
Huangpu District is no less magnetic. It is home to the world-renowned Nanjing Road E., China's longest and most-famous pedestrian shopping street, and must-see tourist sights like Yuyuan Garden, the Bund and People's Square.
So is one better than two when mapping the future of Shanghai's most high-profile area west of the river?
"The decision is expected to produce a win-win situation," said Sun Lijian, an economics professor at Fudan University. "The challenge is how to harness those resources to their best advantage, and make one plus one more than two."
The new district covers 20.5 square kilometers, with a population of 906,300. It is still the smallest of the 16 districts and one county that administratively comprise Shanghai, but in terms of income, it is among the richest.
To many people, it's the "dress circle" of Shanghai - home to luxury apartments, high-end shops and multinational headquarters.
In the city's 12th Five-Year Plan that ends in 2015, the area is designated as a commercial and financial center – with plans for an elevated central business district. Nanjing Road E. and Huaihai Road M., Shanghai's two major shopping streets, may develop even more characteristic styles now that they are one umbrella, observers say.
Yuyuan Garden, which showcases Old Shanghai, and Xintiandi, the sleek face of the modern city, will also be enhanced under the new arrangement, they say.
The new Huangpu District contains vacant land that was part of the World Expo site, offering city planners a blank canvas where imagination and vision can sketch the city of the future.
An unidentified Shanghai government official told Xinhua news agency last week that the elevated CBD in the new Huangpu is expected to interact with the Pudong New Area, which sits just across the Huangpu River and is often called the Wall Street of China. It's all part of Shanghai's mission to reinvent itself as a global financial center.
Lu Qilin, an analyst at the Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co, said other changes will be more subtle but equally important.
"Luwan District, which is more experienced in renovating older areas of the city, can provide help in the redevelopment of some more rundown areas in Huangpu," Lu said.
Xintiandi, perhaps the most sterling example of Luwan's redevelopment skills, has become an area of luxury apartments, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. A similar sort of complex is expected to be built in the former Huangpu District.
When Nanshi District was combined with Huangpu in 2000 and Nanhui merged into the Pudong New Area in 2009, property prices in Nanshi and Nanhui both rose. That is not expected to happen in the latest merger, Lu said, because property prices in Luwan and Huangpu are already among the highest in the city.
When the merger plan was announced last week, some eyebrows were raised. Many people came to believe that Jing'an District, which includes Nanjing Road W. and is Shanghai's richest district, would also be included. It was not.
"If Jing'an has been included, it would have created a really competitive district in terms of wealth," said Yu Hongsheng, director of the Urban Development Research Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Speculation has now shifted to talk that Jing'an may be folded into the new Huangpu District once the process of assimilating Luwan and Huangpu is completed.
The new larger district, to retain the name Huangpu, has been earmarked for development as a major financial and commercial area.
Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng said last week the merger will enable the city to better allocate resources, especially along the banks of the Huangpu River.
Government officials are touting the change as a means of reducing operational costs, since fewer city officials ostensibly will be required to administer the new district. Furthermore, important decisions on development will be made more quickly.
"The new district is home to an array of Shanghai's golden assets," said Huang Renwei, vice president at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Once combined, their value will shine even more."
Tourists and newer residents of Shanghai may not be familiar with the name Luwan, but they have certainly trod the district's streets. It's home to the stylish Huaihai Road shopping area and the trendy Xintiandi area. It was the birthplace of the Communist Party of China 90 years ago, and the showcase for business pavilions at the 2010 World Expo.
Huangpu District is no less magnetic. It is home to the world-renowned Nanjing Road E., China's longest and most-famous pedestrian shopping street, and must-see tourist sights like Yuyuan Garden, the Bund and People's Square.
So is one better than two when mapping the future of Shanghai's most high-profile area west of the river?
"The decision is expected to produce a win-win situation," said Sun Lijian, an economics professor at Fudan University. "The challenge is how to harness those resources to their best advantage, and make one plus one more than two."
The new district covers 20.5 square kilometers, with a population of 906,300. It is still the smallest of the 16 districts and one county that administratively comprise Shanghai, but in terms of income, it is among the richest.
To many people, it's the "dress circle" of Shanghai - home to luxury apartments, high-end shops and multinational headquarters.
In the city's 12th Five-Year Plan that ends in 2015, the area is designated as a commercial and financial center – with plans for an elevated central business district. Nanjing Road E. and Huaihai Road M., Shanghai's two major shopping streets, may develop even more characteristic styles now that they are one umbrella, observers say.
Yuyuan Garden, which showcases Old Shanghai, and Xintiandi, the sleek face of the modern city, will also be enhanced under the new arrangement, they say.
The new Huangpu District contains vacant land that was part of the World Expo site, offering city planners a blank canvas where imagination and vision can sketch the city of the future.
An unidentified Shanghai government official told Xinhua news agency last week that the elevated CBD in the new Huangpu is expected to interact with the Pudong New Area, which sits just across the Huangpu River and is often called the Wall Street of China. It's all part of Shanghai's mission to reinvent itself as a global financial center.
Lu Qilin, an analyst at the Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co, said other changes will be more subtle but equally important.
"Luwan District, which is more experienced in renovating older areas of the city, can provide help in the redevelopment of some more rundown areas in Huangpu," Lu said.
Xintiandi, perhaps the most sterling example of Luwan's redevelopment skills, has become an area of luxury apartments, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. A similar sort of complex is expected to be built in the former Huangpu District.
When Nanshi District was combined with Huangpu in 2000 and Nanhui merged into the Pudong New Area in 2009, property prices in Nanshi and Nanhui both rose. That is not expected to happen in the latest merger, Lu said, because property prices in Luwan and Huangpu are already among the highest in the city.
When the merger plan was announced last week, some eyebrows were raised. Many people came to believe that Jing'an District, which includes Nanjing Road W. and is Shanghai's richest district, would also be included. It was not.
"If Jing'an has been included, it would have created a really competitive district in terms of wealth," said Yu Hongsheng, director of the Urban Development Research Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Speculation has now shifted to talk that Jing'an may be folded into the new Huangpu District once the process of assimilating Luwan and Huangpu is completed.
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