area 110 | expo 2010 shanghai

Shanghai World Expo, a Microscopic View of Cities

World: Cities? Cities!
The 2010 World Expo to be hosted in Shanghai is the first of its kind to take city as its theme whereas most of the previous Expos focused on much bigger things such as the ocean, the world, the people and the future. This time, “Better City, Better Life” is enjoying a high proliferation rate among the public. Which is an evidence that China’s urbanization is gaining speed at surprisingly big paces. Around 2010, the urbanization rate of China reaches 50%, meaning half of the population in China comes from cities. The number of cities in China more than doubled during the past 30 years, from 19% in 1980 (200 million out of 1 billion are from cities) to an expected 59% in 2025. In a study report on China’s urbanization, McKinsey Global Institute depicted a picture like this: there would be 15 super megalopolises in China, each of them having a population of 25 million on average. As the country mobilizes to build new city centers in a large number, and due to land transformation, the boundary between urban and rural areas is becoming inexplicit, many cities have to “be moved” to the countryside. Urbanization means not only that farmers are going to cities, but also that major changes will occur concerning the mode of national economy growth and the lifestyle of the people. Since two rounds of urbanization have been finished in major western countries, lessons can be learnt from these countries so that the urbanization in China could be achieved at lower costs and in shorter terms compared with them. According to statistics, China has 170 cities whose population is over one million, whereas there are nine cities in America and two in Britain.
Population-wise, Tianjin is New York city in China and Qingdao is Los Angeles in China. Most of the western countries had over 75% urbanization rate as early as in the middle of last century (America 72%, Britain 87%, German 79%, Holland 86%, and Canada 77%), since then the speed has been reduced but the process is still underway. In 2010, global urban population has also reached 50%, the same as China.
In this regard, the theme of “cities” defined by Shanghai World Expo agrees second to none with China’s current status, and fits the position very well as a channel of dialogue with the world. This is a good chance for China, together with the rest of the world, to discuss and reflect on various problems and opportunities faced by urbanization. Meanwhile, in addition to key words such as the globe, the ocean, the people, the future and science and technology, which are to be discussed on the platform of “cities”, five subtitles are attached, which are “the fusion of multiple cultures into the city”, “the prosperity of urban economy”, “the innovation  of science and technology in cities”, “the re-shaping of urban communities”, and “the interaction between the city and the countryside”.
The Yangtze River Delta – among the cities
Shanghai never stops trying to harness the resources of the Yangtze River Delta in order to increase its competitiveness, both domestically and internationally. And the World Expo gives it a good opportunity to incorporate other big cities’ resources into its ambitious trajectory. A typical example is the Hong-Qiao transit hub, a complex located at the western part of the metropolis and encompassing an airport, full range of stations for high speed rail lines, inter-city railways, maglev, subways, long-distance bus lines, inter-city bus lines, and other ground transportation.
Its Hong-Qiao Airport Terminal 2 is the equivalent of five times the size of Terminal 1, substantially increasing its passenger capacity and improving and optimizing the transportation conditions. The subway station connects the complex with actually every corner of the city, and a new maglev between Shanghai and Hangzhou is opening during the World Expo, further reducing the shuttle time between the two cities by half – from 1 hour 20 minutes to 40 minutes (before the high-speed railway made its debut, it would take people 3 hours). The 300 km/hour speed is a clear symbol of fast urban development, as well as the extent of integration in the Yangtze River Delta. No wonder some dubbed Suzhou and Hangzhou as the backyard of Shanghai. Behind such a huge transit complex is the urgent need to realize fast connections between Hong-Qiao and Pudong airports, bring the airports even closer to downtown areas. Therefore we could say that the task would become a mission impossible without the existence of a big event, like the World Expo. To make good use of the World Expo incorporating the resources in Yangtze River Delta, not only the transportation and economy should be considered, but also the culture. Several major cities in the Yangtze River Delta (such as Nanjing, Suzhou and Wuxi) plan to remove the temporary national pavilions of the Expo and install them in their industry parks or downtown areas, in order to decorate their cities with dynamics and enhance their reputations. Most of the pavilions are constructed taking into consideration the local weather conditions of Shanghai, therefore feasible to be re-settled in similar atmospheres around the Delta.
In addition, business development is the focus of Hong-Qiao transit hub, making it a commercial center and a conglomeration of service sectors oriented to the Delta area and the whole country. High speed railway would shorten the time travelling between Shanghai and Beijing from 9 hours to less than 5 hours, faster and more convenient compared with airlines, therefore stronger in terms of competitiveness. The southern and the northern parts of China are thereby brought closer to each other.
The metropolis Shanghai, the downtown areas and its peripheral areas
Shanghai has already 11 metro lines with over 270 stations. Connecting all the nine satellite cities around Shanghai, the total length of metro lines is over 420 kilometers, equal to the distance from Paris to Rotterdam, and even longer than the distance from Shanghai to Nanjing, achieving the previous urban planning goal of ”one city connected with nine towns” prepared 10 years ago. According to statistics of Kyodo News, Shanghai metro lines would become the longest in the world before the Expo starts. Since the operation of metro line 1 in 1995, Shanghai has been expanding its metro lines at a speed of completing one new line for every one year and two months, the top speed in the world. The driving power behind that is again the World Expo.
The Shanghai World Expo is located between Nanpu Bridge and Lupu Bridge (including small areas at the left side of Lupu Bridge), having its layout along the two banks of Huangpu River. The planned area is 5.28 square kilometers, with a total investment of about RMB 30 billion, the largest of its kind in the history of World Expo.
Most of the previous World Expos selected their sites in suburbs, intending to boost the development of new zones, while at the same time the original urban planning would not be disturbed – a pretty convenient practice. But Shanghai chose to place the Expo near downtown areas, creating opportunities to develop its southern part of the central area (the southern bund), and bringing Pudong area and Puxi area closer. In terms of urban planning, the site is an ideal place to facilitate the adjustment of industrial structures and the renovation of old areas. On the Puxi side of the site are the Jiangnan Shipyard which is going to be resettled, a power plant, a water treatment works which will be renovated, and the Shaky Sheds and Crude Shacks which are going to be demolished, and blue collar residence communities. Pudong area includes the No.3 Steel Works which is an major pollution source, a shipyard, a port machinery factory,  a chemical factory, a port warehouse, a shanty town which is going to be demolished, and a working class residence community which needs to be renovated. Totally 18,000 households and 270 enterprises are involved within the selected site, and the World Expo could expedite the industrial structure adjustment of this area, help the rearrangement of different urban functions, and provide preferential conditions to the enterprises for upgrading. This area would be transformed into public cultural spaces, representing an ideal situation for the rearrangement of urban functions, expediting the renovation progress of both the southern bund and the northern bund. The waterside landscape along the two banks of the river could be extended, becoming the center of urban landscape and culture.
Without the intervention of the World Expo, it would probably take another 50 years to fulfill all these targets. The planning of Expo itself is a very good translation of “better city, better life”. Shanghai World Expo also abandoned the mode of only new pavilions are constructed, a World Expo practice for 150 years. Large scale preservation and protection of old buildings and industrial leftovers have been launched, and workshops about 250,000 square meters have been renovated into enterprise pavilions, which has important implications on the exploration of historical heritages and cultural values. These buildings are usually large in dimensions, playing an important role in the formation urban skylines. After the Expo, large public recreation parks and public art products will remain in the original site.
Along the Expo axis, the China Pavilion, the Theme Pavilions, The Expo Center and the Expo Entertainment Center would remain after the Expo as permanent buildings. Mr. Wu Jiang, vice president of Tongji University and former deputy director of Shanghai Municipality Planning Bureau, once said that the post Expo planning and construction should not be limited to the land development and utilization of Expo pavilions in the Expo site only. On the contrary, we should have thorough reflections of Shanghai urban development and the new round of urban planning and construction after the Expo. As a major event, the World Expo would undoubtedly pose serious tests to the urban planning and urban management. Problems would be emerging during the preparation of the World Expo. We should make use of this opportunity and treat the Expo site as an important resource for urban functions rearrangement and upgrading. We should definitely avoid the intention of realizing the maximum land value and conduct simply property development after the Expo. The World Expo site: inside the city Mr. Wang Xiaoan, chief architect from Eastern China Architectural Design and Research Institute, once pointed out that there should be no doubt that the permanent pavilions of the Shanghai World Expo could meet the functional requirements of the Expo.
Looking at the planning of these pavilions and the defined functions of these buildings we could clearly see the reasonable ideas and long-term vision of the planners and decision makers. For example, the position of international cultural and commercial exchange center, the large scale river side coverage, the future function of conferences and exhibitions in China Pavilion and theme pavilions, the transportation capacity of the Expo axis, the multi-function conference center position for the Expo center, all those are reflections that the future functions and the related decision making are based on long-term considerations. In addition, another characteristic of this World Expo is that the future operators of the pavilions are engaged in the position definition, functions planning, and even the construction of the pavilions.
The World Expo performing art center, whose design has been led by Mr. Wang Xiaoan, is the first convertible indoor performing art complex in China, being able to be configured into a space with 18000 seats, 12000 seats, 800 seats, or 400 seats. It is also the first place where is surrounded by a ice-hockey rink, a music club, cinemas, restaurants, and shops. Since Shanghai is lack of indoor spaces with over 2000 seats, this center is really a compliment to the diversity of Shanghai’s performing art, especially in Pudong area. After the Expo, the performing art center will serve as a cultural and recreational public space incorporating performing art, gallery, sports and fashion.
It is worth noting that there is an Urban Best Practice Area (UBPA) of 15 hectares on Puxi area. This community imitates a comprehensive function of living, working, recreation and transportation. Totally 59 cities with their successful implementation experiences will showcase their model concerning future urban development, especially their reflections on urban ecology and urban sustainable development, and displaying their results of exploration. They will give us more inspiration and influences concerning the future global urban development.
Epilogue
Some people say that 21st century is the century of China. The attention on urban development has been shifted from New York and Paris in the 19th century to New York and Tokyo in the 20th century, and to Beijing and Shanghai in the 21st century. How the post Expo would be developing, let’s wait and see. Finally my good wish: better Expo, better city, and better city, better life!

Fei Wang is practicing architect and educator, living in Shanghai and Hangzhou, a partner of Atelier Ten and teaching at China Academy of Art and University of Hong Kong Shanghai Study Center. He has taught at University of Michigan, North Carolina State University and Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. His work has been recognized with numerous academic
awards and competition entries. His design and research projects have been exhibited in China, Germany, the United  States and Canada, and has lectured at numerous European, American and Chinese institutions. He is writing regularly and acting as guest editor for Time+Architecture, Domus, Urbanism Architecture, Thresholds (the MIT Press), etc.