In December 2023, thepaper.cn teams up with the Shanghai People's Broadcasting Station to launch the "2023 Dialogue with the District Party Chief" integrated media interviews. The interview dialogue with Li Qian, Chief of the CPC Hongkou District Committee on December 21 is as follows.
From the development and construction of the North Bund to urban renewal, how can Hongkou activate resources within limited space, coordinate regional development, gather talents, and share the achievements of development with the people? Walking through the North Bund Air Corridor, the former site of the Leicester Institute of Technology, Orion Cultural Talent Apartment, and Peace Park, Li Qian talks about the problem-solving approach to the development of Hongkou.
How does the North Bund form an organic ecosystem?
Standing at the intersection of Gongping Road and Changzhi Road, surrounded by towering buildings, the aerial corridor connects North Bund Raffles Plaza, AIA Financial Center, and Jinmao Plaza. The nearby construction site has a rumbling pile foundation and towering tower cranes. By 2030, the 480-meter tallest building in Puxi will rise from the ground here.
Li says that connection is the first key point to solve the problem. It is not only the connection between buildings, but also the connection between production, life, and ecology, thus forming an organic ecology.
According to the plan, the North Bund will build a 6-hectare central green space, a 50-hectare slow-traffic priority area, a 22-hectare no-vehicle area, and a 4.5-kilometer aerial corridor. The aerial corridor will connect important public spaces and commercial buildings in the area in a three-dimensional manner, embellishing plant landscapes and creating an artistic ribbon that walks between the architectural jungle and the urban forest.
Li adds that through the corridor, people who work and live here can freely communicate and experience the North Bund. In the future, the corridor will consider introducing art exhibitions, making it not only a green space but also a cultural space. "Putting people first is the key to making this city full of vitality, and production, life, and ecology must be effectively balanced", says Li.
The development and construction of the North Bund have gained momentum, but still face many difficulties. Li Qian says that on the 4 square kilometers of land at the North Bund, there are many different development entities, some of which have fuzzy boundaries, but they must be very clear on the drawings; There are a large number of historically protected buildings in the surrounding area, which not only need to inherit the historical context well, but also follow market logic to create economic benefits. The organization and connection of underground space are very complex. In addition to the North Bund development site, there will be North Cross Passage, rail transit lines, and so on in the future. Different development entities and space utilization methods pose great challenges to the North Bund. To turn a beautiful blueprint into construction drawings and real-life scenes, it is necessary to work one after another with a consistent spirit.
In the construction process, Hongkou firmly grasps several keywords: quality, efficiency, cost, and benefit, and controls quality from the source of land transfer. It optimizes work mechanisms among government departments, with relevant heads responsible for each major project. The municipal and district governments are jointly studying to further control costs and improve efficiency.
What should we do now that the market is cold and developers no longer have such a strong desire to acquire land? Li Qian believes that we should respect market laws, listen to the true voice of the market, and keep up with the times to innovate some ideas and methods. Due to changes in the land market, the past large-scale development and investment do not match the current market environment, and the market hopes that the land parcel will have composite functions. For example, if a building is all commercial office buildings and a company cannot afford it, then some will be built as office buildings, some as high-end talent apartments, and some as hotels. This not only solves the cost problem but also optimizes the regional functions. Further thinking is needed on what kind of composite structure the North Bund will form.
How can urban renewal achieve functional enhancement?
The cold wind is piercing, and the green space of the former site of the Leicester Institute of Technology is adorned with blooming camellias. The nearly 90-year-old historical building still retains its past appearance but has been renamed as Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Research Institute, becoming a microcosm of urban renewal and innovation leading to high-quality development.
Zhang Jie, Director of Strategic Development and Head of Operations of Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Research Institute, introduced that the design research institute settled in the Leicester Institute of Technology in February this year and conducted more than 300 activities in the first-floor auditorium, covering topics such as technology innovation and design. The second floor is the master studio and the joint laboratory of industry. The third floor is an incubator for design innovation, with some startups already settled in, as well as new product showrooms, roadshow spaces, and more.
During the visit, the heads of the Aptar Open Innovation Incubation Laboratory and the Blue Crystal Microbiology are in talks about business. Geng Qiang, a partner of Blue Crystal Microorganisms, says that Blue Crystal is an upstream enterprise mainly engaged in raw materials production. "After settling in Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Research Institute, we have discovered many downstream enterprises and design experts. We can cooperate and create together, turn good materials into products that users need, and then push them to the market."
Li Qian says that Shanghai Innovation and Creativity Research and Design Institute has built an ecosystem where different resident entities can communicate and collaborate, collaborate on research and development, and form upstream and downstream industry chain relationships. Hongkou also introduces capital for matchmaking. If capital determines that the product has future market value, it can make original investments and convert the results here. Currently, 13 projects have been converted and implemented in Hongkou.
It is worth mentioning that Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Research Institute is currently a public welfare space, and it does not charge any fees to resident enterprises. Li Qian believes that innovation has a very important concept: a risk-sharing mechanism between finance and society. Although it does not charge rent and is subsidized by finance, it can attract many innovative enterprises, and the results they incubate will generate value.
"Fiscal funds need to be reduced, and more importantly, they need to be open source." Li Qian says, "Open source needs to support industries. If we don't invest today, don't wake up early, and in the future, there will never be a sustainable and competitive industry. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce ineffective expenditures and use finance for key livelihood issues, including renovation and industrial support."
How can Hongkou solve the problem of Shanghai's urban renewal entering the era of stock renewal? Li Qian says that urban renewal is a means, with the aim of achieving the enhancement of urban functions and industrial upgrading, Based on the regional situation of Hongkou, we focus on key areas and comprehensively accelerate the high-quality and high-intensity development and construction of the North Bund area. At the same time, we firmly establish the whole-situation awareness in the entire district, promote cross-regional planning, and jointly promote overall renewal and optimization. Especially for small and valuable resource plots, we tailor measures to local conditions, according to the positioning of surrounding transportation hubs and industrial characteristics, strengthen the overall planning and layout for the areas between functional areas and that between resource plots and the surrounding areas of the plots, as well as the integrated design and update of the areas. Efforts should be gradually made to enhance the scattered resources of the plots and the surrounding area's functions, with functions leading the value enhancement and achieving high-quality development of the entire city's renewal.
"The underlying logic of these practices is that the area of Hongkou is small, and we must activate resources and effectively integrate them in a market-oriented way." Li Qian says, "Creating a dojo in the snail shell allows every square meter of space to truly realize its value."
What can talent gathering bring?
In the senior living room of Orion Cultural Talent Apartment, the three residents started chatting while working. Chen Chao is an actor at the Shanghai Pingtan Art Training Institute; Feng Jie is the Marketing Director of Shanghai Fuxu Film and Television Culture Investment Co., Ltd., which mainly engages in animation production; Cai Wanying is the Marketing Department Director of Minmei Culture (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., responsible for the promotion of Jinchao 8 Lanes and frequently undertaking cultural and artistic activities.
Actors need to find performance venues, animation companies need partners, and commercial entities need cultural and creative content. The brief exchange made the three discover the possibility of cooperation. Cai Wanying is inspired and says, "I wonder if we can integrate anime and Pingtan into Jinchao 8 Lanes, making it a convenient place for us to live here."
This is also the first cultural talent apartment in Shanghai, equipped with a small square, a bookstore, a hair salon, a gym, etc. The front desk reception can also handle one-stop services, with an average monthly rent of around 3,000 yuan after subsidies. Currently, more than 50 cultural talents have moved in.
Why do we need to build cultural talent apartments? Li Qian says, "We need to make talents feel at home here and stimulate their creativity. Talents should interact with the community, promote the beautiful things they see and see in Hongkou, and also hope that these talents can become volunteers in the community, participate in community governance, and provide suggestions for the community."
Behind the gathering of cultural talents, Hongkou hopes to build a cultural industry cluster. Li says that the original intention of talent apartments is to allow residents to serve, work, and tax in Hongkou, but Orion Cultural Talent Apartment does not have this requirement, as long as cultural talents can move in. After talent gathering, the economic and social benefits created will definitely be in Hongkou. Even if it is not in Hongkou, Hongkou will still have some influence.
Chen Chao has been living in Shanghai for nearly ten years. He said that the reason why he chose Hongkou for renting a house is twofold: firstly, many jobs and performances are performed here; secondly, Hongkou has rich cultural resources. For artists who want to integrate into Shanghai and seek inspiration, they need to be in the corresponding environment. "Stay in Hongkou, stay on this land, you can discover the details and bring a lot of materials for creation."
In addition to anime production, Feng Jie's company also develops related cultural and tourism products. For example, they are communicating with related companies on how to incorporate fresh ideas into the cherry blossom viewing activities in Luxun Park to attract more young people. After hearing this, Li Qian sets a question on the spot: "Young man, now we want to enhance cultural functions around a core area such as Hongkou Football Stadium and Luxun Park. Can you help us come up with more ideas and bring your social circle in?"
During the conversation, Li Qian tells three young people, "I hope you will have more communication and mutual inspiration in the future. Part of your time will be spent serving your workplace, and the other part will be spent deeply in the community. Through your skills, make this community more vibrant."
How can development achievements benefit the people?
At noon on weekdays, Peace Park was peaceful and peaceful, with several elderly people sitting in a café by the lake chatting and sunbathing. In October 2022, the renovated Peace Park opened its walls and it was open to the public 24 hours a day. The park introduced bookstores, cafes, and a nature education center.
Li Qian talks about how urban development should be guided by specific problems and changes, and truly understand the needs of the people. "Only by bending down can we discover difficulties. If you sit in the office drinking tea and chatting, you cannot find these difficulties". He believes that development is a constantly changing process that cannot be carried out according to conventional thinking in the past. Even if a solution is found now, it cannot be said that it will stop in the future.
As for how to solve it, we need to gather consensus widely. "The ideas I just talked about were not conceived by me alone, but by my colleagues, including the District People's Congress and the CPPCC District Committee. We worked together to form consensuses and develop solutions to the difficulties in the current development of Hongkou. As long as the direction is right, we are not afraid of how far the road is, it is just a matter of when we can reach it", Li Qian says, "People often talk about the government and the market working together.", Sometimes the government must be proactive, but not to overstep and interfere too much in market affairs. He repeatedly warns himself and his colleagues to fully respect the laws of the market, listen to the voice of the market, and follow scientific laws to do things. This is the basic principle for solving problems.
The fruits of urban development ultimately benefit the people. "We must leave the best resources to the people. There is still a portion of the population in Hongkou who have not enjoyed the fruits of urban development, and we still have sporadic old reforms, leaving 3,000 households. The CPC district committee and the district government are determined to complete them." Li Qian says that in the current situation where finance is not abundant, the urban renewal budget in Hongkou has increased by nearly 113% year-on-year, indicating the determination of the entire district to complete the remaining scattered tasks of old areas’ renovation ahead of schedule, "This is a commitment from the CPC district committee and the district government to the municipal Party committee and the municipal government, as well as to the people of Hongkou."
Looking at the winter scenery in the park, Li Qian sighs, "Many people in the surrounding area are leisurely taking walks, and it is such a beautiful picture. There are also ecological museums and libraries arranged in the surrounding area. We want not only the park to be open 24 hours a day, but also the library to be open 24 hours a day. Why do we do this? We hope to have a warm light in the late night, which is a reflection of the city's progress and a light of hope."