Bank of Huangpu River to be renovated
( 2002-11-28 10:59 ) (7 )

The Huangpu River has long been the heart of Shanghai, just as the River Seine has for Paris or the Hudson in New York City.

This Yangtze River tributary that runs through the city is also known as Shanghai's "Mother River," around which the metropolis first developed - on former swampland.

The river splits the city into the Pudong (eastern) and Puxi (western) areas. On the west side is the renowned Bund where the architecture remains from 100 years ago to form a veritable "open-air museum of international architecture."

On the eastern part of Shanghai lies the miracle mini-city with a Manhattan-like skyline, known as the Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone. This part of Shanghai represents how the city is racing to catch up with other international metropolises.

The zone now plays host to hundreds of domestic and international financial institutions. The skyline impresses visitors and gives them a snapshot of the sheer pace of China's development.

Today, Shanghai is gearing up to give the world another surprise - to hopefully win the bid to host the 2010 World Expo.

If Shanghai wins the bid, the World Expo will be held on the easily accessible area, close to downtown, along the banks of the Huangpu River.

In the city's urban planning blueprint, the river banks will be the centrepiece of renovations, with a 5.4-square-kilometre area reserved for the US$3 billion World Expo.

"In addition to traffic factors, the venue is the key area of Shanghai's reconstruction campaign," said Yu Sijia, a section chief at Shanghai's Urban Planning Administration Bureau.

With the exception of the Bund, the river's potential has been untapped. The Expo site is set to change all that and will be a model example of city renovation.

"By locating the Expo in this area, we hope that it can accelerate the city's old district construction and improve the ecological system of the riverbank," said Tang Zhiping, deputy director of the bureau.