Flagship service station opens at West Bund
The newly unveiled flagship service station on the West Bund in Xuhui District.
A flagship service station has been launched at the West Bund waterfront in Xuhui District, which will offer more than 20 free services for tourists and residents around the clock.
The station at 99 Ruining Road is designed to practice the "people-oriented city" concept raised by President Xi Jinping during a visit to the Huangpu River waterfront in November 2019, the district government said on Tuesday.
President Xi said: "Cities are built by the people and for the people," noting that urban planning and development must be committed to a people-oriented approach and focus on people's needs.
More than 20 services in six categories are available at the station. Around 100 people can listen to a lecture, forum or salon as well as read books and relax simultaneously. They can also have coffee on the open-air terrace overseeing the river bank scenery.
Joggers can rest, bathe, drink water or change clothes, while baby care rooms and unisex toilets are also available.
Residents and tourists are encouraged to enter the West Bund Service Space while walking or cycling along the waterfront to watch exhibitions about the history of the riverside region.
Sightseeing coffee tables on the ground floor of the station.
Continuous riverside zones are being created along the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, featuring more greenery, preserved historical buildings, bridges and "sponge city" technology.
Sidewalks stretching 45 kilometers on the banks of the Huangpu between Yangpu and Xupu bridges have opened. The city now plans to extend those upstream and downstream while improving the section that is already open.
Six historical videos about the history of the river and creek since Shanghai opened its port some 170 years ago have been released at the station for the first time. A virtual reality facility allows visitors to compare the historical riverside scenery of the Huangpu with the contemporary views.
Another exhibition offers a futuristic glimpse on the future of the waterfront. Blueprints about the river and creek mentioned in the country's 14th Five-Year Plan and the city's 2035 master plan are displayed in the exhibition section.
A large lecture or reading room at the station.
The station also serves as a key site for local Communist Party of China members to study the history and achievements of the Party with exhibitions and documentaries. Twenty training sessions have been prepared for people from all walks of life, mainly to promote the "people-oriented" urban construction concepts.
Xuhui has developed some 20 such riverside service spaces along the 8.4-kilometer-long waterfront with toilets, resting spaces and mobile phone charging facilities along with bag deposits, as well as event organization and consultation services.
Another landmark service space has been unveiled on the fifth and sixth floors of the Shanghai AI Tower, a key site for the city's plan to become a world "Artificial Intelligence Highland."
Furthermore, a "Runbase" has been developed on the West Bund for running enthusiasts, with bag deposit and shoe rental facilities. The site near the Long Museum is built with four containers. Coaches can guide training plans and organize running events.
An open-air terrace overseeing the scenery of the Huangpu River banks.
Volunteers serve customers around the clock at the service station.
A bath and changing room for runners on the waterfront.
A volunteer serves beside an automatic medical service clinic and vending machine for common medicines.
