Forever Shanghai China Close Up


Forever Shanghai

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Shanghai, city of grand designs,

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and battleground for architects and developers

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fighting to make their mark.

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One man who dares to challenge them is Ruan Yisan, outspoken campaigner

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and defender of the city's past.

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Ruan Yisan is Professor of Urban Planning at Tongji University.

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As Shanghai comes under growing pressure to modernise,

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his work becomes more urgent.

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Professor Ruan's passion for old buildings won him the opportunity

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to restore the city's two finest landmarks -

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the first of them along the waterfront.

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Shanghai grew into a thriving port in the mid-1900s,

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after Britain forced the Qing Emperor

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to open it to international trade.

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The British had developed a taste for Chinese tea,

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silk and porcelain, which it paid for with opium from colonial India.

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As trade increased,

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Western financial institutions

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sprouted along the river's west bank,

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known as the Bund.

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With the advent of Communism, these buildings fell into disuse,

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and they would have stayed that way but for Professor Ruan.

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In the '80s, he pushed for funding

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to restore them to their former splendour as banks and hotels.

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Professor Ruan designed an award-winning promenade

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to replace the narrow pavements.

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Elevated above the road, it gives people a better view of the buildings and the river.

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He plans to convert the entire road into a pedestrian area.

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Forcing traffic underground will mean cleaner, safer streets.

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Once a dirty waterfront,

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it's now a popular spot for families and tourists.

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Nostalgia lingers for 1920s Shanghai, Pearl of the Orient,

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renowned for its affluence and its glamour.

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Nanjing Road - in the 1930s,

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commercial centre for the whole of Asia.

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Known as China's Golden Mile,

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it sold luxury goods from Paris, London and New York,

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and drew a staggering 400,000 shoppers daily.

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Today, that figure has more than doubled.

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The professor won his case. The buildings were kept,

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and the whole street was turned into a pedestrian precinct.

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Another award-winning design.

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Pudong - the new face of Communist China...

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..launch pad for economic reform and architectural innovation.

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SIREN WAILS

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After Pudong, where next?

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Shanghai has a burgeoning population of 16 million.

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Half this number lives in the central core of the city, making it

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one of the most densely populated in the world.

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Congested roads have nowhere to go but up.

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Families are being relocated to outlying districts.

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There's little room to breathe.

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Creating open areas where people won't feel cramped

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is a constant challenge for urban planners.

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"Greening" is the new creed - good for citizens and good for tourism.

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Chenghuangmiao is the old city,

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a cluster of pavilions dating back some 500 years.

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The professor wanted to retain

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the traditional flavour of the buildings

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by giving what he calls "a good scrub and new dentures",

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but his plan was turned down.

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Professor Ruan isn't fazed by controversy.

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His achievements have made him an established figure in urban planning.

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He regularly gives lectures to officials from other parts of China,

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a good opportunity to spread the word.

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In Shanghai, awareness is growing.

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Now it's in the rural areas

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that Professor Ruan concentrates his efforts.

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It's a fight against time. Mistakes have already been made.

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The surrounding areas of Shanghai

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are crisscrossed by a network of rivers and canals

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which flow into the mighty Yangtze.

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Over the centuries, towns and villages

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flourished on their water trade.

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Professor Ruan was born in a water-town

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and he strives to save these places from losing their identity.

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Though he's 69 and in semi-retirement,

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he's fired by these hidden treasure houses.

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He's visiting the yet-unspoilt town of Xinchang in south-east Shanghai.

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STORYTELLER DECLAIMS

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Storytelling is a favourite pastime,

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especially when it involves tales of heroic deeds.

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The professor explains to local officials

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that these traditions and buildings are their greatest asset.

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Preserving them could bring in tourists.

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Whether the locals will do a proper job

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is a gamble.

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When China launched its economic reforms in the '80s,

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many of these towns lost their charm.

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Some now realise that antiquity has tourist appeal.

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But excessive zeal has its own drawbacks,

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as in the town of Zhujiajiao.

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Against Professor Ruan's advice, they put up structures

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that are historically and aesthetically out of place.

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"Fake antiques", he calls them.

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Now he's been asked back by local government to rectify the damage.

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He's brought two of his research students along

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to explain what the problems are.

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In present-day China,

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where everyone is hurtling towards modernisation, few take the time

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to glance back at their historical roots.

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For Professor Ruan,

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the best kind of progress takes the past with it.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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