Extreme sports, international marching bands and other cultural events are important pieces in making Yangpu not only a growing business and innovation center but also a cultural center that takes activities into its communities.

By October, 276 cultural events and activities have been held this year in the district’s communities with a total audience of 37,000 people.

Also, some 350 professionals from different fields visited to instruct community groups.

Working with cinemas including Wanda Cinemas, 62 films were shown for free to over 14,000 students during the summer break, and 334 films shown in the Sunshine Home in each community and town, according to the Yangpu District Cultural Bureau.

Yangpu also has been nurturing its own cultural brand.

Every year since 2008, the Shanghai Spring International Wind Music Festival has been held in Yangpu, featuring marching bands of different types from home and abroad. Thousands of musicians participate in each year’s event and while helping make wind music a cultural brand for the district.

The World Extreme Games shows the young and energetic side of Yangpu. Top athletes gather yearly at what this year was the second-largest such competition in the world.

As part of the First Shanghai Citizens Art Festival that opened in March, Yangpu successfully hosted the Shanghai Urban Landscape Symphony Concert attended by 1,500 people.

The calligraphy competition launched in April had 22,000 people present, and 1,314 works were submitted to the final competition. It was the largest folk calligraphy event ever hosted in Shanghai.

Music festival

On April 29, cruise ships set off from the site of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai with classical marching music echoing in the air as the ships sailed on the Huangpu River.

Eight ships carrying more than 1,000 musicians performed while sailing on the river, attracting crowds. It was the start of the 2013 Shanghai Spring International Wind Music Festival, which attracted more than 50 bands from China and overseas, with an estimated 3,500 participating musicians.

“This is the second time we hosted the cruise performance on Huangpu River, and there were major improvements from last year’s event,” says Gao Debiao, vice director of the wind music festival’s organizing committee.

The cruise performance is an unusual and pioneering event, says Zou Rui, director of the Military Band of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

On the Labor Day holiday on May 1, the marching bands participating in this year’s festival performed and interacted with the crowd at Century Square and Nanjing Road E.

Visitors and passengers were able to experience the enjoyable wind music close up and get to know the musicians.

The Military Band of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army also staged a special concert at Shanghai Oriental Art Center during the festival. According to Zou, every year the band visits the festival and presents a concert.

Zou says the concert, “Forever Military Music,” featured both classical wind music compositions as well as popular works and jazz.

“We focus on how pleasant the wind music is for both the ears and eyes,” he says.

The Military Band of the PLA Navy joined the festival with 80 musicians.

“I’ve brought the band to the festival myself four times in the past, and experienced how fast Yangpu has progressed every year,” says Zhang Zuozhong, director of the band. “The festival is a calling card for the district’s cultural development. We want the people in Shanghai to have the opportunity to really know about the navy and our band.”

Four foreign bands, from Germany, Austria, Australia and South Korea, participated in this year’s festival.

The bands from Germany and Austria were traditional with strict compositions and precision marching performances. In Australia and South Korea, wind music has grown quickly in recent years, and the bands are younger and more energetic.

There was also a platform for amateurs at the festival.

Every year, there is a performance featuring non-professional marching bands. The musicians come from different occupations, from students and teachers to farmers and retirees.

An exhibition featuring wind instruments also was held from April 20 to May 1 at Fudan Zhengda Gymnasium.

Since it was founded in 2008, the wind music festival has attracted more than 20 bands from 10 countries, and more than 270 bands from China, including the military bands. The festival has won the “Professional Operation Award of Shanghai Significant Cultural Events.”

Unlike other festivals that focus more on the professional aspect of wind music, the festival includes more community involvement and emphasizes how the art of wind music is rooted in people’s lives.

“The participation is representative and broad, the content is rich and influential and entertains the public well, while at the same time, the master musicians and elite bands represent the professionalism of the festival,” Gao says. “The development of wind music is thriving and we have received positive feedback.”

Twelve schools in Yangpu have regular marching bands, and about 1,200 students are involved in the learning and performance of wind music. The festival also serves as an international forum that encourages communication among musicians and aids the education of young people as well.

People who enjoy marching band music can plan a whole day’s outing around the event’s schedule.

Extreme sports

A prestigious multi-action sports event, 2013 KIA World Extreme Games, took place from June 9 to 12 at the KIC Jiangwan Sports Center in Yangpu.

An estimated 200 top action sports athletes from some 30 countries and regions came to Shanghai to compete for the glory as well as the prize of US$250,000, a 60-percent increase compared with the 2012 competition.

The event featured competitions in five categories: aggressive in-line skating, skateboarding, BMX freestyle, climbing and Moto X, and a total of 11 disciplines.

Elite athletes competing included skateboarding veteran Andy MacDonald from the US; the Yasutoko brothers from Japan, who returned to compete in aggressive in-line; as well as Vince Bryon and Zach Warden competing for the title in the BMX freestyle.

The winner in the women’s speed climbing category was 23-year-old Russian Yulina Levochkina, who edged in front with 21.9 seconds, followed by runner up, 25-year-old Tita Supita from Indonesia with 23.79 seconds.

McDonald holds the record of most X-Games medals in vert skateboarding. This year he also won the skateboard mini-mega ramp category.

Takeshi Yasutoko, the younger brother of the famous Japanese pair, didn’t make his seventh consecutive win and instead lost to his brother Eito Yasutoko. The bronze went to Otto Bolanos from Columbia.

“Over the years, I’ve been trying to overcome my brother and myself, and I’m glad I finally did it,” Eito Yasutoko said after winning. “I’d like to thank my wife and children, for their enormous support and encouragement.”

The KIA World Extreme Games is now the second-largest competition in the world, with an audience of 69,800 attending the competitions and 320 million watching on TV and Internet. It was broadcast live on Fox Sports networks in Asia, as well as on Shanghai Media Group’s Greatsports Channel.

During the week of the competition, the retail sales in stores and shopping malls in the Wujiaochang area also saw a 20 percent increase. As an international brand in Yangpu, the World Extreme Games has become a popular tourist attraction.