A number of key urban and rural development projects in Shanghai’s southern outskirt were released on Wednesday to attract investment and boost the growth of one of the city’s five “new towns.” Fengxian District unveiled its future blueprint in projects covering industries, urban renewal, rural revitalization and culture and tourism at an investment matchmaking conference near the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Hongqiao. The district government aims to mainly drive the development of Oriental Beauty Valley, a business district targeted to become a global cosmetics hub, and Future Space, a newly unveiled innovation park in the newly expanded Shanghai free trade zone. Nearly 1,000 people from investment institutions, consulting firms, chambers of commerce and agencies attended the conference at Hongqiao World Center. The conference features an exhibition space covering 2,800 square meters and negotiation space for each project. Agreements on 40 projects, with total investment of over 45 billion yuan (US$7 billion), were signed on Wednesday between companies and the Fengxian government. “The integrated development of industry and city has become a trend on regional economic development,” said Zhuang Mudi, Fengxian's Party secretary. The district aims to take the opportunities of the Lingang Special Area, the urban revitalization strategy and integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region to create a better future, he told investors. In one of the newly signed projects, China’s automated car developer Allride will develop a research and development center for China’s intelligent and connected vehicles within Oriental Beauty Valley. Testing on automated cars in Fengxian will mainly focus on special roads and scenarios, including industrial parks, large underground garages and rural roads. A new test zone for intelligent and connected vehicles has been unveiled in Future Space within the Lingang Special Area. Two-thirds of Fengxian, covering 439 square kilometers, is part of the new section of the free trade zone. A high-end cosmetics R&D center and a Swiss life science hub have also been unveiled in the Zhuanghang and Zhelin towns in Fengxian. For the district’s urban renewal campaign, three deals were signed on Wednesday to develop the central area of Nanqiao Town, which dates back to the late Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and considered the historical and cultural heartland of Fengxian and south Shanghai, into cultural projects to open to the public. The Dingfeng Fermentation Food Co plant, for example, the city’s oldest remaining soy sauce factory, will be turned into a museum of heritage skills. Dingfeng is a time-honored brand in Shanghai, making soy sauce and fermented bean curd in the traditional way. The main factory has been relocated, but some traditional workshops are still making sauce for nearby residents and the aroma permeates the town. The plant was once the city’s largest fermentation works, famous for soy sauce, fermented tofu, wine, vinegar and pickles. It will become a creative park with a museum about the company and its manufacturing procedures. Some workers will be invited to demonstrate their skills to visitors. Other projects were signed to renovate the district’s agricultural villages into travel attractions with preserved rural ambiance and homestay projects as part of the city's "rural revitalization" program. The initial phase of a rural tourist attraction, developed from a local Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) village, has been completed, and it will soon receive tourists in a trial operation. Wufang Village in suburban Fengxian District's Qingcun Town, dating back around 300 years, has restored its old houses, dredged waterways and improved the environment. According to Shanghai’s 2035 masterplan, Fengxian is one of the five “new towns” in the city’s outskirt regions. The district is planned as the urban center of south Shanghai and core comprehensive service region in the north of Hangzhou Bay. The total fiscal revenue of Fengxian reached 49.2 billion yuan in 2018, a 22.1 percent increase year on year. The growth rate ranked second in the city following the Pudong New Area.