Moments in April丨Shanghai Daily & JING’AN News

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Suhe Bay: a magnet for investment

Suhe Bay has emerged as a new magnet for investment in Jing'an. The Suhe Bay Functional Zone, as its name suggests, encompasses the district’s waterfront areas along Suzhou Creek.

It boasts a 6.3-kilometer shoreline and covers an area of 4.2 square kilometers.

Nearly a century ago, Suhe Bay was one of the most prosperous downtown areas and the cradle of China's modern-day finance and commerce. It witnessed the birth of the country's first silk reeling factory, the Yutong flour mill, Fuxin flour mill and other early significant national industrial enterprises.

Suhe Bay is also encoded with haipai (Shanghai-style) DNA.

The area has nearly 500,000 square meters of historical buildings, including the former residences of a number of celebrities such as ink-wash painter and calligrapher Wu Changshuo, early revolutionary Song Jiaoren, and wartime hero Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan.

Other prominent historical sites include Tianhou Palace, the city's largest temple to Mazu (the goddess of the sea) that dates back to the late 19th century; and Shenyuli, once one of the city's best-preserved shikumen(stone-gate) neighborhoods in the 1930s.

However, the area declined due to industrial development and urban expansion. Urban renewals in recent years have helped revive the area's former glory.

Under Shanghai's “One River, One Creek” shoreline project, Suhe Bay will become a world-class waterfront central activity zone in the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, on par with world-class waterfront areas in Paris, London and Singapore.

This month, in the second year of “Our Water,” a river-inspired initiative to promote exchanges and cooperation between Shanghai and other world metropolises, Suhe Bay was promoted in Paris, and potential cooperation between La Défense near the Seine was sought.

Suhe Bay is now well on its way to become an investment hub.

Statistics show that the area generated tax revenues of 11.62 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in 2023, up 14.71 percent on a year earlier. In the first three months of this year, that figure hit 3.498 billion yuan.

The area is now home to 23 regional headquarters of multinational companies, such as consultancy Roland Berger, advertising leader WPP, consumer group Kao, fashion brand Coach, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and private securities investment fund manager Sumitomo Mitsui DS Private Fund Management.

They specialize in different sectors, which helps to promote the area's development in trade services, finance services, technology services, and more, as well as to create a vibrant business ecosystem.

Wang Lei, global executive vice president of AstraZeneca, said Suhe Bay has helped to better promote innovation and international cooperation after the company based its research and development center in Jing'an.

Qian Fang, chief financial officer of Roland Berger China, complimented the area's business ambience.

He especially noted the “Suhe One Space” and “Suhe One CEONet,” which, provide platforms for local companies and executives to exchange information and seek cooperation. The latest policies are also explained.

“It's very helpful to expand business,” Qian said.

The beautiful waterfront landscapes and rich cultural ambience two major reasons attracting business to come.

With the launch of the “Art Ripples” campaign in 2023, an art corridor is taking shape in Suhe Bay, which now boasts 170 cultural spots, especially top-class art institutions such as Sotheby's, UCCA Edge and Fotografiska.

As part of the campaign, an art alliance has been established that brings together waterfront art institutions, commercial complexes and other industrial giants.

In addition, more historical buildings will be renovated to become modern exhibition halls, and tours that link cultural spots and that are integrated with river cruises will be launched.

Popular cultural and sports events such as Shining Shanghai Festival and Shanghai River Regatta also help to jazz up the area. More events, such as an urban camping festival, are in the planning stage.

Stage is set for festival of modern drama

The curtain was up on April 26 on the 2024 Modern Drama Valley, the city's annual theatrical extravaganza in Jing'an. Twenty-four productions in 104 showings – the most since 2009 – are being presented at nine venues through May 13.Over 80 percent will be Shanghai debuts, and here are some on tap. Tickets are available on damai.cn.

April 12- May 5

‘Der Kontrabass' (‘The Double Bass')

Date: Through May 5

Venue: Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center Drama Salon

Address: 288 Anfu Rd

This is the first work for the stage by acclaimed German novelist Patrick Süskind.The one-act monologue, which debuted in 1981 in Munich, tells the story of a lonely musician in search of love and recognition.

It is set in a small room filled with the claustrophobic atmosphere, where the double bass player expresses his complex feelings toward his instrument: a companion, a lover and also an adversary. After he's fired by the orchestra, he sadly finds that he's always overlooked, and he has no other skills to make a living.

Through his story, the play explores the modern social dilemmas, where people face anxiety, confusion and reflection over the clashes between material and spiritual values.

This adoption is presented by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, directed by Yang Yi and starred by renowned actor David Wang from Taiwan.

May 1-2‘Waiting for Godot'

Date: May 1-2

Venue: STA (Shanghai Theater Academy) Experimental Theater

Address: 630 Huashan Rd

Among a variety of adaptions of Irish writer Samuel Beckett's classic “Waiting for Godot,” Greek director Theodoros Terzopoulos's version is not to be missed.

Terzopoulos is the leader of the Theatre Olympics and founder of Attis Theater.

In his hands, Beckett's famed tragicomedy is set on “the ruins of the world” where all traumas are exposed to the public. Under such circumstance, what does it take to make life worth living? Two solutions are offered: communicate with others or with the inner self.

Basically, Terzopoulos tries to look into humanity through this play.

As well as directing, he's also in charge of the set, lights and costumes.

Leading performers are Enzo Vetrano, Stefano Randisi, Paolo Musio, Giulio Germano Cervi and Rocco Ancarola.

May 4-5, 7-8‘887'

Date: May 4-5,7-8

Venue: Daning Theater

Address: 1222 Pingxingguan Rd

In his very first visit to Shanghai, Canadian theater artist Robert Lepage will be presenting his most autobiographical work “887”.

Lepage is one of the most influential figures in contemporary theater after Peter Brook and Robert Wilson. The “Guardian” newspaper has called him “an alchemist in modern imaginative theatre.”

“887” is a monodrama written, directed and performed by Lepage himself. The title refers to an address — 887 Murray Ave in Quebec — where Lepage lived as a boy in the 1960s. So, apparently, the play is a journey into the realm of his childhood memory.

During the 120-minute show, somewhere between a theater performance and a conference, Lepage questions the relevance of certain recollections: How does memory work? What are its underlying mechanisms? How does a personal memory resonate within collective memory?

May 9-12'Lento E Violento'

Date: May 9-12

Venue: Lyceum Theater

Address: 57 Maoming Rd S.

Directed, written and performed by French-Italian artist Valentina Cortese, “Lento E Violento,” which literally means slow and violent, is a hybrid form composed of dance, circus and comedy. It takes the audiences to a world of ambivalence

where absurdity, illusion, doubt, failure and other elements co-exist.

The show is part of the “Special unit: Sino-France Commemoration” in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France this year.

May 10-12'The Life and Times of Michael K'

Date: May 10-12

Venue: Yunfeng Theater

Address: 1700 Beijing Rd W.

“The Life and Times of Michael K” is adapted from a Brook Prize winning novel of the same name by South African novelist JM Coetzee, which tells an arduous journey of Michael K. He is born with disability but tries to take his ailing mother back to her rural home in a time when South Africa is torn by civil war.

The novel illuminates the need for an interior, spiritual life, and for connections to the world in which we live.

South African director Lara Foot brings the novel to life through multilayered theatrical staging which combines puppetry, performance, film and evocative music, in collaboration with the Baster Theater Center, the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus and the Handspring Puppet Company.

Residents explain what's great about their community

Low-carbon neighborhood

Shimen Rd No. 2 Subdistrict, hailed as Shanghai’s first low-carbon community, has been working to get green design everywhere.

Small lots of public spaces, which used to be left abandoned or overlooked, have

been turned into mini ecological gardens equipped with rain collection systems, solar lighting devices and bird sanctuaries.

Green plants, seasonal plants and colorful wall paintings also help to liven up the

gardens.

Local residents are appointed to take care of the gardens, as an effort to raise their

green awareness, in addition to various community activities such as green fairs, tree adoptions and garden workshops.

Notably, the subdistrict has formed partnership with local retailers and venues to

launch eco-friendly campaigns. This includes cooperation with cafes to have empty milk cartons recycled and with Shanghai Natural History Museum to give classes about the environment and nature.

All these efforts are integrated to a digital platform, which provides detailed and real-time information for the subdistrict’s officials to promote the development of low-carbon in the community.

Rich culture

The subdistrict covers 1.07 square kilometers of land, sandwiched between the bustling Nanjing Rd W. commercial zone and the beautiful waterfront areas along the Suzhou Creek.

Hence, it demonstrates a subtle blend of haipai (Shanghai-style) and waterfront culture in historical sites and cultural venues.

One significant cultural landmark is Xiwang Garden Lane Museum, which is tucked away in the century-old Xiwang residential compound on Fengxian Road.Xiwang is a typical Shanghai lane neighborhood where Chinese and Western influences co-mingle. It houses 12 Queen Anne-style buildings located on interconnecting lanes.

The museum tells the history of Shanghai and showcases local living over the century, highlighted by family treasures of local residents.

Earlier this year, with the support of the subdistrict, Wei Yang School opened along the Suzhou Creek as a new cultural venue to promote traditional Chinese culture. This includes traditional Chinese culture lectures and experiences such as folk dances and tea ceremonies on offer.

In celebration of its opening, a hanfu (traditional Chinese Han-style attire) fashion show was staged along the river. A waterfront hanfu festival is now in the planning stage.

Wuding Shuchang is another popular cultural venue of the subdistrict. Shuchang, literally storytelling hall, is a place where pingtan, a music and storytelling genre that originated in Suzhou and typically uses the Suzhou dialect, is staged.

Wuding Shuchang has been opening for nearly 40 years. Besides traditional tea and snacks, it has started to serve coffee from this year to cater to the diversified

needs.

Last month, the subdistrict’s digital art museum, hailed of the first of its kind in subdistricts in Shanghai, opened, allowing local residents to experience both Shanghai and Chinese culture in a multi-sensory way.

The opening exhibition, curated by Wei Yang School, uses digital technologies to create an immersive and interactive experience for visitors to know about hanfu and Chinese rituals.

Elder care

Of a population of 34,000 in the subdistrict, about 45 percent is 60 or older, and 15 percent is 80 or older.

Faced with the “deep aging” demographic category, the subdistrict has created a “15-minute elder-care service circle,” which allows the elderly to access elder-care facilities within a 15-minute walk.

There are different elder-care facilities for the elderly to choose based on their needs.

For instance, senior home provides “respite services” for those who can’t manage their own lives and need short-term nursing care; Daycare nursing center is

designed to care the elderly with cognitive disorders.

And community health management station offers physical check-ups, rehabilitation and excises.

The community’s comprehensive elder-care service center includes an outpatient department of rehabilitation medicine where medical interventions for chronic diseases, rehabilitation nursing and traditional Chinese medicine treatment

are provided at doorstep.

The subdistrict has joined with charity organizations, social groups and local firms to launch a variety of elder-care campaigns, such as sending volunteers to offer nursing service to the elderly who are aged 80 and over and live alone at home.

原标题：《Moments in April丨Shanghai Daily & JING’AN News》

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