Tired of high-rises and shopping malls? Check out the "beautiful villages" in Shanghai
Shanghai is often regarded as an urban metropolis with countless high-rises and shopping malls, yet the hinterland of Shanghai forms about 85 percent of the city’s land area.
In recent years, the city has been attaching great importance to revitalizing its rural areas with a campaign called “beautiful villages.”
Last July, Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang called rural areas “a rare resource of a megacity.”
So far, more than 60 model villages with a clean environment, good governance and wealthy lifestyle have been ranked as “beautiful villages” in suburban Chongming, Qingpu, Baoshan, Jiading, Songjiang, Jinshan districts and the Pudong New Area.
The city aims to ensure 200 such villages meet this standard by 2022.
Shanghai Daily photographer Wang Rongjiang visited three of the villages in Pudong recently.
Xinchang Village
Elderly women enjoy their daily get-together at a pavilion...
... while their husbands enjoy Pingtan performance.
An elderly woman sews in a shop selling traditional clothing and handmade cloth.
Xinchang has become a new popular destination for tourists.
Pengmiao Village
Canal-front houses in Pengmiao Village of Nicheng Town in Pudong. As the quality of the water has improved over the last few years, fish and shrimp have returned.
Residents tend to flowers in front of their villas.
Gongping Village
A villager uses a wooden shuttle loom to make colorful cloth in the culture center. Tourists can learn about such traditional crafts here.
Rope and a bicycle are used as decoration.
An elderly lady reads in her kitchen.
