RICH cultural influences are everywhere in Yangpu District, from the city's earliest waterworks built in the shape of a castle to traditional factories that are being transformed into creative hubs. It's a center of learning, and education institutions are clustered in the district. The area is also building wetlands and has constructed facilities for extreme games and cultural events.

Red tour

The China National Anthem Pavilion tells the little-known story of the national anthem, "March of the Volunteers," which originated in Shanghai. The pavilion is located at 151 Jingzhou Road, in a massive round structure with an open center, evoking a musical record. It covers 270,000 square meters.

"March of the Volunteers" is the theme song of the film "Sons and Daughters In a Time of Storm" (1935), which was filmed in Shanghai and became popular nationwide.

On the first floor of the exhibition hall, a curving wall screen shows the film. Adjacent bas-relief carvings depict the film studio of Dianton Co on Jingzhou Road, EMI and Gold City Theater.

The structure contains six halls, including the Preface Hall, Birth of the Anthem Hall and Anthem Memorial Hall. More than 1,150 related items, cultural relics and historic photos are exhibited.

The Shanghai Academia Pavilion at Huangxing Park has collected photos, documents and videos about the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

It's the story of their lives as they contributed to China's modernization.

The building looks like an open book with an eye-catching glass bookshelf 6.5 meters high at the entrance.

It contains more than 2,000 books from various fields of science, including monographs, manuscripts, published papers and books these academics studied.

Walking along the "science path" with books on each side, visitors can glimpse the lives of dedicated scientists.

In the Visitation Pavilion, the academics themselves seem to be standing in front of visitors and at the push of a button, they discuss their lives and work.

Campus tour

Yangpu District contains 10 universities, more than any other district, including Fudan and Tongji universities, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and the Shanghai University of Sports.

The first stop at Fudan is Xianghui Hall, considered the symbol of the university.

The two-story building has white walls and a dark green hipped roof. The university's museum is located near the vast lawns in the west.

This two-story structure contains more than 300 oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC). It also contains the largest exhibition of the ethnic culture of the Taiwan Gaoshan ethnic minority on the Chinese mainland.

Along the North Road of Tongji University is the old gray Wenyan Building in a wooded area.

It is considered the first example of modern architecture in China and is considered a classic.

Walking on Hengren Road at Wujiaochang, visitors see the administration building of the Shanghai University of Sports, the home of the city's former civil government. It was completed in 1933.

The Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), covering 84 hectares in Wujiaochang, is surrounded by universities, including the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Fudan, Tongji, the Shanghai Second Military Medical University and six others.

The community contains many high-tech enterprises.

It is a magnet for scholars and features a high-quality lifestyle with many amenities, open space and leisure facilities.

Ecological tour

Walking into the New Jiangwan City, visitors see tranquil wooded areas and green space and hear bird and insects. Because of a long period of isolation, species were undisturbed and there's quite a bit of small wildlife. It invites fishermen and walkers in its wetland areas where water channels have been connected.

New Jiangwan City is the site of the former Jiangwan Airport and is now an ecological reserve. An ecological pavilion covers 362 square meters.

In Yangpu District's 12th Five-Year Plan, New Jiangwan City will be built into a high-quality life demonstration area that is international, smart, sustainable and convenient for residents.

The SMP Skate Park is a big draw for young people who maneuver and perform stunts in its bowl-shaped underground tunnel, in its pipes, half pipes, quarter pipes, various ramps, pyramids, pools and other features. It's a center for extreme sports events.

The park in New Jiangwan City is one of the world's largest and best X-sports parks, with many features and high levels of difficulty. Promoted by the district, a variety of X games and X music festivals have become popular.

According to a website opinion poll conducted by CNN, the Yangpu X-games ranks eighth among 20 tourist events around Shanghai.

The park is one of the few places in the city where young people can safely practice extreme sports. The local government invited Australian experts to design the park, which has areas for beginners, medium-level players and competitors, including world-class athletes. There's something for everyone.

The number and scale of programs in the Asia Games for the 2012 World X-Games are reported to approach the level of similar games in the United States.

This year the crowds totaled 67,500, a record, and the television audience was 320 million person-times.

Yangpu has held the X-games competitions for six consecutive years, turning them into cultural events. X music festivals have been held for five years and young people can experience not only X-games but also rock and pop music.

Yangpu District has launched the "China Horn" culture and sports events. Since 2007, the "China Horn" Shanghai Spring International Music Festival in late April has become Shanghai brands. Programs include cruising on the Huangpu River, wind music performances, carnivals, marching wind music performances and concerts.

On eight Huangpu River cruises, nearly 2,000 performers from 34 orchestras from around China, Asia, Europe and the United States performed wind instruments. Around 50 amateur orchestras from 12 Chinese cities performed in the Hudong Workers Cultural Palace. Orchestral concerts were also held in Huangxing Park and in Yanji Community. A marching band performed in Zhengda Gymnasium at Fudan University.

Industrial tour

Yangpu District was a center of heavy, traditional manufacturing and site of the city's early industries. The Yangshupu Waterworks on the Huangpu River is a dramatic example, built like a massive, fortress-like castle, with period elements and decoration.

East Dock is Yangpu's gate to the river, located south of Yangshupu Road and east of Qinghuangdao Road.

The area contains many early industrial buildings from the 1920s and 1930s with remarkable architectural elements.

They are considered "immovable cultural relics." The old Huangpu Port area is planned as a riverside culture and leisure center with banquet, exhibition, conference, entertainment and catering facilities.

The Shanghai International Fashion Center is the former No. 17 Cotton Factory, dating back around 90 years and one of the first buildings constructed by foreign merchants. It witnessed the evolution of China's modern textile industry, including major inventions and pioneers.

Today the district is taking advantage of the abundant resources along the Huangpu River and its historic buildings to construct a complex of multi-functional exhibition areas, fashion stores, innovative design offices, entertainment and catering establishments.