New Economy Blossoms in Old Yangpu Factory

Xinmin Weekly Issue 46, 2019

Industrial ruins have long been an important feature of Yangpu District of Shanghai and the pressing question asked over the years is how to reconstruct the old factory that was such an iconic landmark in the district. The local residents took the initiative to inject new energy and vitality into Yangpu. In 2014, an architect walked into the plant, which had been abandoned for 14 years, and restructuring began. The project was called Changyang Valley.

It took only four years for Changyang Valley to grow from a dilapidated factory building into a green business district. Changyang Valley has a total annual production value of RMB 3.5 billion (US $501 million), with an average output value of RMB 60, 000 (US $8,589.71) per square meter. There is now a new saying, “Zhongguancun in the North, Shenzhen Bay in the South, and Changyang Valley in the East.”

The success of Changyang Valley is largely credited to the fact that it remains based in Yangpu, has an international orientation, and is knowledge driven. Through measures such as reducing the entry threshold of start-ups, employing the best in domestic and foreign innovative talents, building a platform for knowledge-based industries, and improving the incubation network of scientific research, it will cooperate with schools and business to create a new path for international talents and innovation-driven development.