New landmarks taking shape in the Pudong New Area

A dazzling array of landmarks are taking shape in Pudong, enabling the new area to rival any world-class city.

Pudong is accelerating construction of major functional platforms at the request of the central government which, last week, designated Pudong as a pioneer area for socialist modernization. A hive of construction activities is under way, Pudong Director Hang Yingwei said in a city government conference held yesterday.

Construction to build a cluster of top scientific research institutions is a priority, Hang said, including the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiaotong University's Zhangjiang Advanced Research Institute, the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center and Shanghai Clinical Research Center.

Of them, the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, named after the Chinese-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1957, focuses on key scientific puzzles in the fields of particle and nuclear physics, astronomy and astrophysics, and quantum basic science.

In particular, Zhangjiang Science City, the city's innovation highland, will see major progress. This year, half of the projects in the second phase of construction will be completed, and two-thirds of phase-three projects will commence, Hang said.

Pudong will also focus on construction of major financial platforms, such as an international financial assets trading platform, as well as major data platforms such as a data exchange.

And for residents, the good news is that cultural and recreation facilities will spring up, creating new destinations and putting Pudong on the world map of a top livable places.

According to Hang, second-phase construction of Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

The park opened to the public in 2007 as the city's most tree-intensive park with 90 percent forest coverage. Natural forests, islands and wetlands dot the 1.17-square-kilometer park. Second-phase construction covers an area of 1.84 square kilometers, and will feature more native plants to display the local ecosystem.

Construction of the east branch of Shanghai Library, Pudong Football Stadium and the north area of the Expo Cultural Park are also speeding up.