Shanghai Transforming

Metro, maglev ride made easier

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:04:00 -0400

The Shanghai subway and maglev operators will issue a common Maglev & Metro pass tickets from today. It combines Metro’s one-day-pass and a maglev ticket.

For 55 yuan (US$9), pass users will be entitled to a single journey ride on the maglev and a full-day use of the city’s metro. A 85-yuan pass allows a two-way journey on the maglev. (Shanghai Daily)

Lantern Festival, Shanghai -- Travel 365 -- National Geographic

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:53:07 -0400

Lantern Festival, Shanghai -- Travel 365 -- National Geographic:

(Photograph by Delphotos/Alamy)

The annual Lantern Festival brings crowds to the Yu Yuan district in Shanghai’s Old Town. The illuminating event—which includes a parade and lantern shows—caps off the 20-some-day celebration of Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year. (National Geographic)

Protesters gather in Shanghai to oppose new lithium battery factory

Sun, 12 May 2013 17:46:04 -0400

Protesters gather in Shanghai to oppose new lithium battery factory:

(People participate in a protest against a battery factory on a street of Songjiang district, on the outskirts of Shanghai on Saturday. Photo: Reuters)

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Shanghai yesterday to oppose plans for a lithium battery factory, highlighting growing social tension over pollution on the mainland.

Residents are concerned about potential waste water and gas emissions from the plant, which would be built by Hefei Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy. (South China Morning Post)

Shanghai Streets

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:21:13 -0400

Shanghai Streets:

Love this picture by Rob Smith that was included in his photo essay for the Public issue of MAS Context about everyday life on the streets of Shanghai.

Sliding to safety

Sun, 05 May 2013 12:11:15 -0400

Sliding to safety:

(Retired Shanghai machinist Zhou Miaorong demonstrates his invention of a rapid evacuationslide that makes escaping a burning high-rise safer and faster. Photo by Wu Ni/China Daily)

Zhou Miaorong, a retired Shanghai machinist, has invented a rapid evacuation slide that willmake escaping a burning high-rise safer and faster.

During a fire, residents in a tall building can lie in the chute and slide to the building’s exit at amuch faster speed than walking down, Zhou says.

“It needs only two to three seconds to slide down one story,” says the 70-year-old inventor. (China Daily)

Lingang New City set to attract global talent

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:26:29 -0400

Lingang New City set to attract global talent:

(Lingang New City designed by gmp Architekten)

High-end international communities will be built in the Pudong New Area’s Lingang New City, which is expected to attract top-level manufacturing and modern service industries by 2020.

The 315.6-square-kilometer Lingang New City is 75 kilometers from downtown Shanghai along the southeast coast at the mouth of Hangzhou Bay. It is connected to Yangshan Deep Water Port by Donghai Bridge. Around 800,000 permanent residents will live in the area. (Shanghai Daily)

Neighboring cities to be linked by Metro Line 11

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:58:33 -0400

Neighboring cities to be linked by Metro Line 11:

(Image of Shanghai metro from Shanghai Daily)

Shanghai will be linked by Metro to Kunshan City in neighboring Jiangsu Province when subway trains will be put on trial runs within a week, local Metro operator said yesterday.

The Anting-Huaqiao section on Metro Line 11 is likely to become operational this year after a complete trial run. (Shanghai Daily)

MVRDV: CBD at shanghai hongqiao airport under construction

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:44:57 -0400

MVRDV: CBD at shanghai hongqiao airport under construction:

Construction has begun on the 4.5 hectare sustainable central business district near the Hongqiao airport in Shanghai. (via designboom)

Corten Steel Umbrellas to Shade Madrid's 2010 Shanghai Pavilion

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:34:36 -0400

Corten Steel Umbrellas to Shade Madrid's 2010 Shanghai Pavilion :

Madrid’s 2010 Shanghai Pavilion - a glazed sustainable housing solution wrapped in bamboo louvers - is about to undergo a sustainable upgrade with a new facade of Corten steel umbrellas. The building was designed by Foreign Office Architects and eventually converted into a commercial office and retail complex, although it is showing signs of rust and it’s bamboo elements have completely rotted out. So the municipality commissioned 3Gatti Architecture Studio to design a striking new shading system (Inhabitat)

Shanghai planning Pudong-Hongqiao high-speed airport rail connection

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:55:51 -0400

Shanghai planning Pudong-Hongqiao high-speed airport rail connection:

(Photo by Lars Plougmann via Shanghaiist)

Presently, getting between Pudong and Hongqiao is a time-consuming undertaking regardless of whether you take a taxi, bus, or train.

However, that will soon change (well, in several years) when the city opens a direct airport-to-airport rail corridor. Shanghai is currently in the process of planning a high-speed express railway line that would connect the two airports, with journeys taking under 40 minutes. (Shanghaiist)

Shanghai Tower Reaches 500 Meters

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:19:52 -0400

Shanghai Tower Reaches 500 Meters:

The Shanghai Tower, which is still under construction, reached 501 meters (1,643 feet) April 11, surpassing the neighboring Jin Mao Building and the World Financial Center. Shanghai Tower is now the second tallest structure in China, and will become the tallest building when it reaches completion in 2014. (CTBUH)

A tale of two cities reveals the art of ambition and confidence

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:17:49 -0400

A tale of two cities reveals the art of ambition and confidence:

(Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts. Copyright of Yayoi Kusama)

After the big debate on which will be the better financial centre for China and even the world in the next decade, Shanghai and Hong Kong have recently taken their competition beyond the financial industry.

Now, it’s also about art and culture. (South China Morning Post)

Shanghai to Start Emissions-Trading Trials Before End of June

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:03:29 -0400

Shanghai to Start Emissions-Trading Trials Before End of June:

(Smog in central Shanghai. oliverlaumann/Flickr)

Shanghai, China’s financial center, said it will start trials of emissions trading before the end of June in an effort to reduce the intensity of its energy use and carbon discharges.

Shanghai aims to cut its energy consumption and carbon releases per unit of gross domestic product by 3.5 percent this year, according to a document posted on the website of the Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission. (Bloomberg)

Morphosis as seen by Iwan Baan

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:19:00 -0400

Morphosis as seen by Iwan Baan:

Giant Interactive Group Corporate Headquarters (Photo by Iwan Baan)

Pavilion 4 by HMA Architects & Designers

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:49:18 -0400

Pavilion 4 by HMA Architects & Designers:

The aim of our pavilion is to exhibit a practical example for sustainable city. Our design intention is to reuse existing structure and material as much as we can use, and reduce many scrap materials by half. After we researched existing building we found that original wall needs to remove. It is because it can’t stand for. When we remove all walls we try to keep original brick in the site which use for afterward. Then these original bricks were piled up again with some decorations and patterns. Moreover roof window is added on the top for getting sunlight and natural ventilation and dull flat roof shape was redesigned to random shape. (ArchDaily)

Minimum wage up to 1,650 yuan

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:45:01 -0400

Minimum wage up to 1,650 yuan:

Shanghai is to raise the minimum monthly wage by 170* yuan (US$27), from the current 1,450 yuan to 1,650 yuan, starting on April 1. (Shanghai Daily)

* I guess someone at Shanghai Daily is not really good a math. The raise is 200 yuan.

Cultural center required for large communities

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:38:08 -0400

Cultural center required for large communities:

(Photo by Kenneth Lu aka ToastyKen)

Residential communities with a population of over 100,000 will be required to have a center for cultural and recreational activities, according to new Shanghai rules that will take effect on April 1. (Shanghai Daily)

Sergey Balovin's 'In Kind Exchange'

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:52:02 -0400

Sergey Balovin's 'In Kind Exchange':

Sergey Balovin, a Russian painter in Shanghai, gives new perspective to the term “starving artist.” According to Visual News, he has lived money-free for the past few years due to a clever system of bartering. The artist paints a portrait of a friend, acquaintance or stranger, and in return, the subject of the painting provides Balovin daily necessities and goods as payment. (Huffington Post)

Ringing the changes

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:14:02 -0400

Ringing the changes:

(A visitor to the Shanghai Telecom Museum tries to figure out an old switchboard and telephone. Photo: CFP)

The impressive four-story Renaissance-style building at No.7 on the Bund once housed the Great Northern Telegraph Corporation (GN), a Danish company that became Shanghai’s first telephone company. In May 1881, five years after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, GN applied to the Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession for permission to introduce the new telecommunication device to the city. The building (completed in 1908) is now home for the Bangkok Bank and the Royal Thai Consulate General. (Global Times)

Poor-quality Chinese concrete could lead to skyscrapers collapsing

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:20:16 -0400

Poor-quality Chinese concrete could lead to skyscrapers collapsing:

A sand scandal is brewing in China, with concerns that low-quality concrete has been used in the construction of many of the country’s largest buildings — putting them at risk of collapse.

The recipe to make concrete is pretty simple — cement, aggregate and water — but the strength of the final batch can vary wildly depending on the kinds of aggregate and cement used and the proportions they’re mixed in. Commonly the aggregate used in many modern buildings projects consists of crushed gravel or other rock, including sand, and that’s the cause of so much distress in the Chinese construction industry at the moment. Inspections by state officials have found raw, unprocessed sea sand in at least 15 buildings under construction in Shenzhen, including a building which, when finished, was set to become China’s tallest. (Wired via @bldgblog)