Two City-level Boulevards Added to Hongkou

The city-level boulevard Chifeng Road (Quyang Road to North Zhongshan No. 1 Road).     Photo by Qi Chuanbin

By Qi Chuanbin

Recently, the list of 2020 Shanghai’s Boulevards was officially released, and Chifeng Road (Quyang Road – North Zhongshan No. 1 Road) and Liangcheng Road (Guangzhong Road - Wenshui East Road) of Hongkou were enlisted. So far, the total number of the city-level boulevards in Hongkou has reached 17.

According to the relevant evaluation methods of city-level boulevards, the shade coverage rate of sidewalks and non-motorized lanes should reach more than 90%. On 700-meter-long Chifeng Road (Quyang Road North Zhongshan No. 1 Road), the crown of camphor trees on both sides of the road is full and wide, and the branches and leaves are thick and luxuriant. The green corridor is formed by the overlapping branches. Every summer, it provides a cool shelter for pedestrians and vehicles. The district greening department staff told that the pruning method of camphor on both sides of the road is obviously different from that of non-boulevards. "The crown should be large, and the branches and leaves of trees on both sides should be able to touched, but the branches in the middle of the crown are relatively sparse, so as to improve the ventilation rate, so as to avoid being easily blown down by strong gusts of wind."

Shade in summer and color in autumn, the boulevards, a vital ecological card in Shanghai, play an important ecological landscape function in the city. It is worth mentioning that since its establishment in 2011, the district greening department has gradually added Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Cinnamomum camphora, Koelreuteria and other tree species on the basis of the traditional Platanus, so that the boulevards not only act as the air conditioning in the scorching days and provide a shading effect for the public, but also decorate the spring and autumn colors of the roads, realize the shade from green to multi-colors and make the road landscape become more harmonious and beautiful. At the end of summer and early autumn, Tongxin Road (Xintongxin Road - Shuidian Road) is full of yellow flowers on the trees, slightly fragrant, and the fruits are purplish red. It is a scenic spot along the river bank.  

In recent years, considering the overall layout of the urban ecosystem and the reasonable planning of the road environmental conditions, the district greening department has made efforts to create a shady area in order to further radiate and expand the ecological benefit of the boulevards. At present, according to the surrounding characteristics of the commercial zones and residential areas, the district greening department has built the Quyang shady area, which is composed of Quyang Road, East tiyuhui Road, Miyun Road, Yutian Road, Chifeng Road and so on. The cooling benefit and the recreation function are more significant. 

It is learned from the district green city appearance bureau that in the next stage, the greening department will explore a more scientific and reasonable management and maintenance method of the boulevards in the aspects of pruning and maintenance of street trees, pest control and fertilization, so as to ensure that the roadside trees grow well and the tree crowns are full. Besides, as required by the work requirements of "greening, multi-color, preciousness and benefit", we should further improve the construction quality of the boulevards, increase the promotion of new and excellent street trees, and build more colorful and multi-landscape street greening landscape for the public, and realize one scene for one street characterized by a combination of green and multi-colors.