Urban greenery often hides around the most unexpected street corners.
The full-factor landscape upgrade project around Block 135 has recently been completed, bringing a comprehensive facelift to the area enclosed by Gaoyang Road, Tongzhou Road and Yuezhou Road.
Through upgraded roadside greenery, culturally themed scenes and renewed corner gardens, the renovation seamlessly weaves architectural textures, urban road networks and residents’ daily lives together. It adds another high-quality neighbourhood to the North Bund that combines cultural heritage and ecological functions.
As the centrepiece of the neighbourhood upgrade, the newly renovated Fangxi Garden at the intersection of Gaoyang Road and Yuezhou Road is now open to the public. Covering more than 1,000 square metres, the garden adopts an open, wall-free layout. Inside, evergreen shrubs, flowering bushes, ornamental grasses and shade-tolerant groundcover form diverse plant landscapes with fresh views at every turn.
An ecological dry stream winds through the green space. Its bed is lined with gravel bedding and permeable pebbles to collect, filter and detain rainwater on-site for recycling. This reduces urban flooding, turning this small plot into a sponge green space that can “breathe”.
Landscape installations infused with Shanghai cultural charm adorn street crossings, lending narrative appeal and everyday delight to the streetscape.
At the corner of Gaoyang Road and Yuezhou Road sits an arched window feature inspired by old Shanghai. The beige stone arch pairs with black iron railings topped with a sculpture of a lazy cat, brimming with classic Shanghai residential vibes.
At the Gaoyang Road entrance stands a small structure shaped like a vintage gramophone, seemingly ready to play timeless old Shanghai melodies and carry forward local cultural heritage.
At the junction of Tongzhou Road and Yuezhou Road, two large plane tree leaf sculptures rest gently on the lawn, echoing collective memories of old Shanghai neighbourhoods under plane trees.
The roadside tree network has also been optimised. Plane trees form the backbone along Gaoyang, Tongzhou and Yuezhou Roads, accompanied by crape myrtle, begonia and other flowering species. Tree pits and green buffer strips are connected to create rolling green corridors and tree-shaded avenues with seasonal blooms.
New leisure benches have been installed along the pavement on Gaoyang Road for pedestrians to rest. Some benches feature custom backrests and small tabletops balancing comfort and practicality. A barrier-free slow-traffic system spans the whole block to accommodate seniors, children and people with disabilities, making this pocket green space an inclusive corner for all age groups.
North Bund development is accelerating with continuous improvements to living quality and ecological amenities. The landscape upgrade around Block 135 marks a key component of green enhancement along Zhoujiazui Road and embodies the people-centred philosophy in North Bund’s urban renewal. Authorities plan to gradually fill gaps in green space through scattered site renewal and linear connectivity, lifting overall neighbourhood quality. The vision of “seeing greenery out the window and entering a park right outside the door” will become part of residents’ daily lives.