[photopress:zone_Waigaoqiao_Free_Trade_Zone._1.jpg,full,alignright]The original saying was: ‘Better to have a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong.’ That has now changed.
A taxi driver said, ‘Nobody wanted to go to Pudong about 20 years ago. Pudong used to be farm land and the only mode of transport for people going from Puxi to Pudong was the ferry.’
Pudong is now the future of the metropolis being pushed forward by projects like the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone.
Against the backdrop of the Oriental Pearl Tower, this the a scene of a new development under way in the Lujiazui financial centre in Pudong, Shanghai.
On April 18, 1990, the Chinese Communist Party announced big plans for the 570 sq km area with a population of three million.
First, it was the emergence of the Lujiazui financial center, then key projects like the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Pudong International Airport and the World Expo 2010 site.
Over the past 18 years, Pudong has seen an average of 18% growth every year. Last year, it achieved a gross domestic product (GDP) of RMB275 billion ($123.9bil), a 14.4% increase over 2006.
The ultimate goal of the Shanghai government is to build a capitalist environment in Pudong, based on the socialist system.
Pudong New Area District publicity bureau chief Chen Gaohong said in briefing reporters recently on the 18 years of development in Pudong sqaid, ‘The federal government requests the Shanghai municipal and Pudong district governments to play a bigger role in this respect.
‘The late Deng Xiaoping said that the development of Pudong would have to be different from other coastal economic zones such as the Pearl River Delta.
‘We must start off with a complete package from manufacturing and research and development to marketing, and focus on high-tech production.’
Earlier this year, Pudong announced plans to build one million square meters of apartments to accommodate non-local professionals.
Source: The Star Online
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