“Smooth Accessibility” Improves Location Value of North Bund

– Stories of achieving smooth accessibility in Hongkou riverside section

By Huang Yousheng

On July 1, the riverside line of Hongkou section achieved basic accessibility, and the close interaction between people and the river became so “touchable” for the first time. The Hongkou riverside connection project lasted half a year, and during the period, efforts were made by multiple departments on a number of lines with the full support of the units along the lines, just in order to make a wonderful result in “returning the river to the people with smooth accessibility”.

All the efforts made in racing with the time and fighting against the difficulties have resulted in the citizens showering praise on the connected Hongkou riverside section, and the units along the section have felt that the their support for the connection project has paid off despite the temporary inconvenience. When the beautiful “postcard” was unveiled, the stories behind the project also emerged.

Behind the “postcard” was the support of a large number of enterprises.

After nearly 20 years of development, the North Bund area where the riverside bank line is located has become an important part of the district’s shipping and financial cluster, with a large number of the headquarters of central enterprises, shipping enterprises and foreign-related institutions as well as headquarters buildings, and the development has been mature.

At this point, the connection project meant that the enterprises had to surrender the "back garden" in the gold location and part of their interests. Surprisingly, despite the seemingly disadvantage, the enterprises and institutions along the line offered full support. COSCO Shipping Group Director Xu Lirong said that compared with the limited land in front of the entrance, the development opportunity brought by the improvement of the location value for the North Bund after the connection will significantly outweigh the land value.

Today the pedestrian corridor on Gaoyang Road is just located in front of the entrance to COSCO Shipping, which used to be a breakpoint between the Guoke (Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal) greenbelt and Zhiyang greenbelt. At the beginning of the project, the riverside connection headquarters made the coordination plan in the first place and sent the plan to COSCO Shipping, China Shipping Develop Co., Ltd. and other enterprises, arranging the construction time and trying to reduce the impact on the normal operation of the enterprises. However, the construction caused the problem of entering and leaving the underground parking lot on Gaoyang Road. How could the “difficulty in parking” be settled for thousands of employees?

The riverside connection headquarters worked with Guoke and the property management company to make special parking plan by adjusting the layout of the underground parking lot and directing the cars to enter and leave at the Daming Road exit which is a little farther, thus overcoming the “tough task” in the shortest time.

However, in the project there were far more “tough tasks” besides the parking lot. The viewing platform restaurant at the Seagull Hotel had been run for years and was the “favorite” for the “foodies” with the unique riverside vision well known in Shanghai. As the starting point of the Hongkou riverside section, the place was important for linking up the breakpoint between the Old Bund and the North Bund. The connection meant that the privately run restaurant had to be turned into an open public platform, which was one of the biggest tests for the riverside connection headquarters.

It was gratifying that at the first exchange meeting, the Seagull Hotel immediately expressed its support. However, instead of the hotel, the restaurant's operator was a private company and the lease had not yet expired. Would they be willing to leave? Sure enough, after the first communication, the operator made an objection. The headquarters immediately adjusted the coordination plan, and, together with the Seagull Hotel and its higher authorities, invited the operator to the district government and strived for their support by repeatedly telling them the importance in the decision on the riverside connection and customizing related arrangements for the company. After one month of repeated efforts in communication and coordination, the operator finally agreed to support the construction.

Riverside connection makes the North Bund more attractive.

An official of the connection headquarters said that the connection required the "embroidery spirit" of urban construction, which called for “more carefulness” than making new clothes, and even slight carelessness will result in serious damage. After the connection of the riverside, the independent parts have been integrated into a development community, with the radiation effect behind it slowly emerging.

The W Hotel, born on the same day as the riverside connection, took the lead to enjoy the benefit. Located next to the Magnolia Plaza, the highest tower in Puxi, W Hotel is adjacent to the Riverside Footpath, and standing high in the hotel, you can not only see the splendor of Lujiazui but also overlook the elegant style of the building group on the Bund. The unique location advantage brought a "good start" to W Hotel just on its opening: full reservation. The hotel’s global brand official said that it was undoubtedly right to choose the North Bund for the location of its first hotel in Shanghai.

At present, the Hongkou Riverside Footpath radiation area has clustered a number of high-end luxury star hotels: Shanghai Building and Pujiang Hotel with unique Shanghai style; and the Hyatt on the Bund, Banyan Tree and other high-end modern hotels. An official of the District Tourism Administration said that the surrounding environment is one of the "hard indicators" to evaluate a hotel's comprehensive capacity, and in the future, with the advantages brought by the riverside connection, the high-end hotels in Hongkou will be more competitive in the source selection.

However, the North Bund is wonderful for far more than high-end hotels. With the Hongkou riverside connection, another “important” member of the shipping service agencies on the North Bund will be added: Shanghai North Bund Shipping Service Center is about to be inaugurated. The center will cluster a number of key shipping functional institutions, and become a "think tank" for shipping on the North Bund by building the shipping industry information exchange platform. In addition, with the effect of shipping service headquarters base in the riverside area increasingly shown, the riverside resources will be developed in diversified ways, and the industry agglomeration on the North Bund will also be further enhanced.

In the future, the beauty of the Hongkou riverside will be unveiled gradually. The hanging basketball court at the riverside greenbelt will lift the basketball sport from the ground to the air, bringing unprecedented sports experience. It is learnt that the hanging basketball court will be built with totally transparent materials, and there you can enjoy the beauty of the river while playing basketball, coupled with the extraordinary lighting effect with the lighting in Lujiazui at night. It is bound to become a new highlight of the riverside landscape. After the opening of the court, a variety of cultural and sports activities will be introduced, so as to fully unleash the modern vitality at Hongkou riverside. In addition, an outdoor theater will also appear in the center of the landscape lawn on Guoke greenbelt, making another a new landmark for the regional cultural ecology.