0:00:14 > 0:00:18Shanghai, city of grand designs,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21and battleground for architects and developers
0:00:21 > 0:00:24fighting to make their mark.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31One man who dares to challenge them is Ruan Yisan, outspoken campaigner
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and defender of the city's past.
0:00:51 > 0:00:57Ruan Yisan is Professor of Urban Planning at Tongji University.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00As Shanghai comes under growing pressure to modernise,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02his work becomes more urgent.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19Professor Ruan's passion for old buildings won him the opportunity
0:01:19 > 0:01:22to restore the city's two finest landmarks -
0:01:22 > 0:01:25the first of them along the waterfront.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31Shanghai grew into a thriving port in the mid-1900s,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33after Britain forced the Qing Emperor
0:01:33 > 0:01:36to open it to international trade.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The British had developed a taste for Chinese tea,
0:01:39 > 0:01:45silk and porcelain, which it paid for with opium from colonial India.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50As trade increased,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Western financial institutions
0:01:52 > 0:01:55sprouted along the river's west bank,
0:01:55 > 0:01:56known as the Bund.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04With the advent of Communism, these buildings fell into disuse,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08and they would have stayed that way but for Professor Ruan.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14In the '80s, he pushed for funding
0:02:14 > 0:02:19to restore them to their former splendour as banks and hotels.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Professor Ruan designed an award-winning promenade
0:02:40 > 0:02:43to replace the narrow pavements.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Elevated above the road, it gives people a better view of the buildings and the river.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54He plans to convert the entire road into a pedestrian area.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Forcing traffic underground will mean cleaner, safer streets.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Once a dirty waterfront,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09it's now a popular spot for families and tourists.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Nostalgia lingers for 1920s Shanghai, Pearl of the Orient,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49renowned for its affluence and its glamour.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Nanjing Road - in the 1930s,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24commercial centre for the whole of Asia.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Known as China's Golden Mile,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32it sold luxury goods from Paris, London and New York,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35and drew a staggering 400,000 shoppers daily.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Today, that figure has more than doubled.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The professor won his case. The buildings were kept,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and the whole street was turned into a pedestrian precinct.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Another award-winning design.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Pudong - the new face of Communist China...
0:05:58 > 0:06:03..launch pad for economic reform and architectural innovation.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08SIREN WAILS
0:06:10 > 0:06:12After Pudong, where next?
0:06:15 > 0:06:20Shanghai has a burgeoning population of 16 million.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25Half this number lives in the central core of the city, making it
0:06:25 > 0:06:27one of the most densely populated in the world.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Congested roads have nowhere to go but up.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Families are being relocated to outlying districts.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47There's little room to breathe.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Creating open areas where people won't feel cramped
0:06:57 > 0:07:00is a constant challenge for urban planners.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34"Greening" is the new creed - good for citizens and good for tourism.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Chenghuangmiao is the old city,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42a cluster of pavilions dating back some 500 years.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44The professor wanted to retain
0:07:44 > 0:07:46the traditional flavour of the buildings
0:07:46 > 0:07:51by giving what he calls "a good scrub and new dentures",
0:07:51 > 0:07:53but his plan was turned down.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Professor Ruan isn't fazed by controversy.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23His achievements have made him an established figure in urban planning.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33He regularly gives lectures to officials from other parts of China,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36a good opportunity to spread the word.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41In Shanghai, awareness is growing.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Now it's in the rural areas
0:08:44 > 0:08:47that Professor Ruan concentrates his efforts.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51It's a fight against time. Mistakes have already been made.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56The surrounding areas of Shanghai
0:08:56 > 0:09:00are crisscrossed by a network of rivers and canals
0:09:00 > 0:09:02which flow into the mighty Yangtze.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Over the centuries, towns and villages
0:09:04 > 0:09:07flourished on their water trade.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Professor Ruan was born in a water-town
0:09:10 > 0:09:14and he strives to save these places from losing their identity.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Though he's 69 and in semi-retirement,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21he's fired by these hidden treasure houses.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28He's visiting the yet-unspoilt town of Xinchang in south-east Shanghai.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54STORYTELLER DECLAIMS
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Storytelling is a favourite pastime,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01especially when it involves tales of heroic deeds.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16The professor explains to local officials
0:10:16 > 0:10:20that these traditions and buildings are their greatest asset.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Preserving them could bring in tourists.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Whether the locals will do a proper job
0:10:25 > 0:10:27is a gamble.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06When China launched its economic reforms in the '80s,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09many of these towns lost their charm.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Some now realise that antiquity has tourist appeal.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39But excessive zeal has its own drawbacks,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42as in the town of Zhujiajiao.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Against Professor Ruan's advice, they put up structures
0:11:45 > 0:11:48that are historically and aesthetically out of place.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51"Fake antiques", he calls them.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Now he's been asked back by local government to rectify the damage.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02He's brought two of his research students along
0:12:02 > 0:12:04to explain what the problems are.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23In present-day China,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27where everyone is hurtling towards modernisation, few take the time
0:13:27 > 0:13:30to glance back at their historical roots.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32For Professor Ruan,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35the best kind of progress takes the past with it.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:14:21 > 0:14:25E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk