Hongkou, named after Hongkou Harbor, is one of the central areas of Shanghai, with a total area of 23.4 km2. According to the results of the sixth population census, the whole district has a permanent resident population of 853,400 and a registered population of 790,000.
Since China’s reform and opening up, state leaders including Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping have all come to visit Hongkou and direct its developments. Hongkou enjoys an advantageous geographical location. Mr. Zhu Rongji, former Mayor of Shanghai, used to praise the North Bund as the “treasure land” of Shanghai. As the confluence of rivers, the south-facing North Bund, together with the Old Bund and Lujiazui, forms the “Golden Triangle” — the core of central business centre of Shanghai; especially in recent years, Shanghai promotes in great force the infrastructure construction on hubs, networks and functional facilities, which greatly improves the transportation system of Hongkou. Metro Line 3, Line 4, Line 8 and Line 10 pass through the district, and Line 12 which is now under construction will be opened to traffic within this year. Both the Inner Ring Road and the Middle Ring Road cross Hongkou, which greatly facilitates the transportation from Hongkou to Shanghai’s two big airports and Shanghai Railway Station.
Prosperity of Regional Economy. The total revenue in 2012 reached RMB 12,964,000,000, increased by 9.3%, among which the revenue of the district amounted to RMB 5,820,000,000 with an increase of 8.2%. Hongkou prioritizes the developments of five main industries: “Blue” — shipping service industry. Concentrating on the construction of Shanghai modern shipping service system, Hongkou is devoted to developing high-end and middle-end shipping service industry and enhancing resource allocation of shipping service so as to build up a well-rounded industry chain of shipping service. “Golden” financial service industry. Different from Lujiazui and the Old Bund, Hongkou vigorously promotes the development of financial service industry characterized by wealth management. By the end of 2012, the total number of various financial enterprises has nearly amounted to 500 within the district, sextupling that in the last phase of the eleventh Five-Year Plan. “Red” — commerce, tourism, culture and sport industry. Hongkou makes full use of the rich commercial, sport, cultural and red tourism resources in North Sichuan Road to boost the integrative development of commerce, tourism, culture and sport industry, and vigorously stimulates e-commerce so as to build up Shanghai modern commercial function zone for international wine trade. “Green” — low-carbon industry. Based on the construction of Huayuanfang Energy-saving Environmental Protection Industry Park, Hongkou is actively engaged in carbon trading and carbon emission control, striving to lead the nation in carbon finance. “Multicolor” — cultural and creative industry. Promoting the combination of culture with innovation, science and technology, Hongkou strives to develop the emerging cultural industries such as digital media, digital publishing and music publishing.
Function Optimization of Urban Areas. Hongkou focuses on the construction of “Three Zones, Two Valleys and Two New Housing Estates”. Accelerating the opening-up of the North Bund Shipping and Financial Service Cluster Zone to the outside world. Situated along 3.2 km golden waterfronts, the North Bund possesses a total floor area of over 3,000,000 m2 including buildings completed, under construction as well as those in the plan. Entitled the first “shipping headquarter base” of China, Hongkou actively launches comprehensive pilot reforms on shipping and financial service in the North Bund in order to construct a dual-bearing zone for both Shanghai international shipping centre and financial centre. Vigorously promoting the function transformation and industrial restructuring of commercial, trading, cultural and recreation streets in North Sichuan Road. Several large-scale commercial and trading facilities like Capitaland Hongkou Plaza have set up in succession in Hongkou with online and offline business growing interactively, making it a new consumption hotspot and popular office area of Shanghai. Moreover, the building of centers for import goods from different countries is also in progress. Speeding up the development and upgrading of Big Cypress Knowledge Innovation and Service Trading Circle. The gross area of Big Cypress-centered Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park is expanded to 7.99 km2. Hongkou tries to maximize the Zhangjiang policy effects and energetically promote high and new technology industry. Vigorously developing Green Charcoal Valley and Shanghai Music Valley. Over 20 functional institutions gather in Charcoal Valley, among which Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange is launching a pilot program of carbon emission permit trading. Shanghai Music Valley is the only scenic area with complete preservation of its river system in Shanghai, and its waterfront landscape, lighting and music effects have gradually taken shape. Also, it has accomplished the construction of several distinctive industrial parks with a number of extraordinary cultural enterprises assembling there. Constructing two high-quality housing estates — Ruihong New Town and Rainbow Bay Social Security Housing Area. Ruihong New Town is a fashionable top-grade international residential area converted from the old quarters and streets of Hong Town. Rainbow Bay covers a gross area of 900,000m2, focusing on social security housing provision. At present, the construction is well underway.
Rich Cultural Deposits. Hongkou, long known as “cultural Hongkou”, is the home of Shanghai-style culture, the hotbed of advanced culture and cultural celebrities. It has 3 historical and cultural landscape protection zones and 4 major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level, namely, Shanghai Postal Administration Building, Shanghai Mansions (Broadway Mansions), Tomb of Lu Xun and Tilanqiao Prison. There are 303 historical sites and cultural relics within the area, including some former residences of celebrities such as Lun Xun and Qu Qiubai and a number of memorial sites and halls such as the Memorial Site of the 4th National Congress of the Communist Part of China, the Site-Memorial of the Inaugural Meeting of Chinese Left-Wing Writers Union and Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. “Shanghai, a city of hundred years, can be seen in Duolun, a little street.” Duolun Road is one of the areas with the largest number of modern cultural celebrity residences in Shanghai. Through years of renewal and reconstruction, it gradually forms its own characteristics, namely, “residences of celebrities, the old Shanghai, Bowen Street and leisure community”.
Harmonious and Stable Society. Hongkou invigorates the district through energetic development in education. Within the district, there are famous universities such as Shanghai International Studies University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and leading model schools like Shanghai Fuxin Senior High School and No.1 High School Affiliated to East China Normal University. Hongkou also has plenty of medical and health resources. Third-grade class-A hospitals such as Shanghai First People’s Hospital, Yueyang Hospital and Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital are available in the district. Furthermore, Hongkou heads the municipality in terms of the pilot program for family doctor system and “the combination of nursing homes with hospitals”. The services of nursing homes are highly acclaimed by the public, and Hongkou takes the lead in forming new home and community-based nursing home model owing to its “Online Nursing Home” which covers all the streets and neighborhood committees in the district. Community co-governance and residents’ self-governance are actively carried out with social organizations like “New Home” emerging in large numbers and public participation and satisfaction continuously increased.