To build itself into a pioneer area for socialist modernization, Pudong New Area has stepped up efforts in building culture and major cultural facilities that make culture more visible and recognizable and embody the soft power of a city. Shanghai Library East Branch, Shanghai Museum East Branch and Shanghai Grand Opera House are all major cultural and people’s livelihood projects listed in the “13th Five-Year Plan” and to be completed during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period.

Shanghai Library East Branch will be built into a “Library for People” based on people-oriented thought, positioned as a smart hybrid library in the all-media era and a new-generation reading and cultural exchange center. Facing Century Park, it has a floor area of about 115,000 m2 with 7 floors above ground and 2 floors underground. When opened to the public, it can provide 6,000 seats with an annual readership of 4 million.

Shanghai Museum East Branch is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year, positioned as “a global top museum themed on ancient Chinese art.” It covers a floor area of 113,200 m2 with 6 floors above ground and 2 floors underground, 3 times the size of Shanghai Museum on the People’s Square. The two museums will form an overall pattern of “Two Branches in One, Interaction Between the East and West, Clear Characteristics, and Complementary roles.”

Shanghai Grand Opera House, which is expected to be completed and delivered at the end of 2024 and be opened to the public in 2025, will become a cultural of Shanghai, the capital of performing arts in Asia. It will also become China’s first theater integrating performance exchanges, productions and rehearsals, and art education, with additional functions of opera art exchanges, historical exhibitions, and theoretical research. It will have 3 large, medium and small opera halls with 2,000 seats, 1,200 seats, and 1,000 seats, each with its own theme.

Shanghai Library East Branch, Shanghai Museum East Branch and Shanghai Grand Opera House in the World Expo Cultural Park are newly constructed cultural landmarks of Pudong New Area as it pushes ahead with high-level reform and opening-up and builds itself into a pioneer area for socialist modernization, being a testament to its soft power.

Many cultural venues listed in the “13th Five-Year Plan” are located in Pudong New Area. The function of Shanghai Library East Branch, according to the industry insiders, is transferring from “collection” to “connection.” In the past, libraries focused on collecting various books and other collections; at present, libraries focus on the connection with people and new things and breakthrough. Shanghai Museum East Branch will further improve quality and efficiency, bringing itself a step further towards a global top museum themed on ancient Chinese art. Modern fashion and ancient context are presented artistically in the same time and space, which the public greatly look forward to. Shanghai Opera House, as a concrete symbol of the urban spirit, not only focuses on stage art, but also benchmarks itself against major international cities, providing a large platform for the integration of culture and education, the integration of culture and business, and the integration of culture and tourism. It is reported that the Expo Cultural Park where it is located, another urban green lung with cultural and leisure connotations, is likely to start trial operation within this year.

In fact, the three are only part of Pudong’s efforts in constructing cultural venues, and various “belts” have taken shape. In Huamu, Shanghai Library East Branch, Shanghai Museum East Branch, together with representatives of cultural landmarks in Pudong such as Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, etc., form a new cultural belt. On the 22-kilometer walk path along the Pudong Riverside, there is a “River View Service Station” every kilometer, and these stations have been updated to be themed on cultural life. They were initially built as supply stations for people doing exercises such as running, cycling, etc. on the walk path. However, they now each have a theme, for example, “original aspiration” represents a red-themed bookstore. Meanwhile, Pudong Art Museum along the Huangpu River, Shanghai Tower that is transforming into a cultural landmark, and Shipyard 1862 Fashion Art Center etc. have also formed a “Life Art Show Belt.”

The hard power of infrastructure construction shows Shanghai Height and Shanghai Speed, while the functions of cultural landmarks designed to serve people reflect Shanghai’s warmth as a city. After all, buildings are built by man and for man — just as the cities are built by the people and for the people. Shanghai Library East Branch, Shanghai Museum East Branch and Shanghai Grand Opera House serve the residents living in the neighborhoods, art and culture lovers in the Yangtze River Delta, and even global artists, and they are like a home to these people. Both the soft power and hard power of Pudong and even Shanghai have seen significant improvement.

 

 (Author: Zhu Guang, Xinmin Evening News reporter)