Four buildings along Huangpu River blown up
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-20 09:43

Engineers blew up four buildings belonging to an old factory along the western bank of the Huangpu River yesterday afternoon as part of a scheme to renovate the northern section of the Bund.

Enginees in Shanghai secceeded in blowing up four builing attached to an old factory along the western bank of the Huangpu River yesterday afternoon.

The 21,000-square-meter complex was part of the Shanghai General Factory of Eiderdown, which was located at the intersection of Qinhuangdao and Yangshupu roads.

Engineers with Fudan Explosive Demolition Co said they used more than 320 kilograms of dynamite to demolish the buildings at around 1pm.

The former factory will be turned into a 90,000-square-meter park alongside the river, according to the North Bund Development Project Leading Group Office. The factory buildings were built in the 1920s and 1930s.

An official with the North Bund project office surnamed Peng said more old warehouses and factories in this area will be pulled down this year.

The north Bund development is part of the Waitaiyuan Project which aims to preserve and renovate historically and culturally significant buildings while updating the image of the Bund and neighboring areas.

Yesterday's demolition went off without protests sparked last year when the old Shanghai Friendship Store was torn down.

After a month of planning, engineers decided to tear down the building instead of imploding it, after heated debate among authorities about the safety of blowing up the building.

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