Ambassadors enjoy a walk on the waterfront
Ambassadors on the Yangpu Waterfront
Ambassadors enjoy a walk along the Yangpu Waterfront.
More than 40 foreign ambassadors visiting the city took a walk along the Yangpu District waterfront on Tuesday to learn about its balance between history and modernity, as well as industry and ecology.
They began their journey from the Qinhuangdao Road Pier, formerly known as Whangpoo Wharf, and learned of the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement in China in the 1910s and 1920s, when many Chinese students went to France for studies in search of knowledge for China's development and rejuvenation against the suppression of imperialism and feudalism.
The movement's peak was in 1919 and 1920, when about 1,600 students went to France. Among them, 650 left from the wharf, including later famous Communist Party of China leaders Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, as well as Nie Rongzhen, one of the most famous military leaders in China.
In 1919, the then 26-year-old Mao Zedong arrived in Shanghai for the first time and saw off the first group of those students at the wharf.
The ambassadors toured a section of the 15.5-kilometer-long waterfront which used to be the cradle of China's modern industrial civilization and home to many firsts, including China's first modern waterworks and first commercial paper mill.
The area, once an industrial rust belt, is now being converted into a "life show belt" featuring parks, museums, greenbelt, restaurants and other public amenities.
They also visited an urban planning exhibition center to see how Shanghai is implementing the philosophy of "cities built by the people and for the people," which was stressed by President Xi Jinping when he visited the waterfront in 2019.
Xie Jiangang, Party Secretary of Yangpu, briefed the visitors on how the district has been developing from being industry-oriented to a knowledge-intensive and innovation-led district that is improving people's wellbeing.
Ambassadors drink coffee made with beans bought by Shanghai from Yunnan Province to help it out of poverty.
Ambassadors listen to a briefing on Yangpu's history, achievements and development plans.
Robert Sterling Quant, the Bahamas ambassador, said: "It's interesting to see how an old industrial area has been converted into parks and buildings that can be used by citizens. Tourists can visit them and hopefully some money is generated for the residents in the upkeep of them and also some jobs are created.
"And in addition to that, Shanghai tries to preserve some of the history, some ideas of how things were 100 years ago and 20 years down the road. It's a good thing I think is being done."
Maria Gustava, Mozambique's ambassador to China, was impressed by the district for taking into account ecological, traditional and cultural issues when constructing the waterfront.
"The most important thing is to bring young people from universities to participate in construction of the area," she said. "It's like people are building the city for themselves to enjoy it and bringing all what they need, which is really a very good model for the building of the city's future."
She said the relationship between Mozambique and China had been established a long time ago and there would be more cooperation in the future.
"China helped Mozambique with liberation, and from there we have been working together," she said. "China is helping Mozambique in economic development. We feel in the future we're going to do more because there is a trust between the two countries and our people have also known each other for a long time. There is a confidence and our cooperation is based on a win-win situation. So we will build a community with a shared future through the Belt and Road initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation platform."
Ambassadors watch a video about Yangpu District.
Ambassadors walk in the rain along the Yangpu Waterfront.
