鈥? A community鈥檚 spirit expressed in graffiti

  Tuesday
31 October

    2017

 C

JING鈥橝N                     A 65-meter-long wall painted with graffiti is a new attraction in the Jing鈥檃nsi area. More than 200 people 鈥?including local residents
                            and expats, senior citizens and white-collar workers 鈥?contributed drawings to the wall this month. Their artwork includes an array of
                            images, from iconic Shanghai landmarks like the Oriental Pearl TV Tower to activities in their daily lives. 鈥?Jiang Xiaowei

                            Giving the 鈥榟igh five鈥?to progress

Scan on WeChat to have      Li Qian                                          which can handle an average 30 million           19th CPC
real-time update of what鈥檚                                                   pieces of data every day.                        National Congress
happening in the district.  China鈥檚 future development, encap-
(Chinese only)                          sulated in a 鈥渇ive-in-one鈥?formula,  Cultural activity: at the doorstop              Residents walk on a newly built track
                                        was reaffirmed at the recently con-                                                  along the Dongjiaojing River.
                                        cluded 19th National Con颅gress of       Though retired, Li Changshun is busier
                            the Chinese Communist Party. The nation          than ever. He leads a chorus of 90 retirees,    home services like therapeutic massages,
                            will strive to improve political, economic,      spending most of his time on rehearsals         haircuts and housekeeping.
                            cul颅tural, social and ecological development.    and show organizing. The Xinfukangli
                            Jing鈥檃n鈥檚 commitment to play its part in that    neighborhood serves as the home venue              Many of those services are provided by
                            process comes amid its recognized success        for the singing group.                          professional social organizations, and the
                            in implementing positive changes. We look                                                        idea is popular with senior citizens.
                            at some of those achievements weighed               鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to worry about food or
                            against the five national goals.                 shelter,鈥?Li said. 鈥淲hat we want is rich cul-   The environment: creating harmony
                                                                             tural services at our doorstep, creating a
                            Political progress: rule by law                  spiritual life that brings joy to the whole        Qian Maifang, 60, belongs to a group of
                                                                             community.鈥?                                    retired women that has volunteered to help
                               Fumin is one of the grassroots legal ser-                                                     keep the Xujiazhai River clean and tidy.
                            vices centers in Jing鈥檃n neighborhoods that         A newly renovated cultural center in the
                            assist residents in handling grievances.         neighborhood also hosts activities such as         Come rain or shine, they are out picking
                                                                             knitting bees and a health management           up trash and reporting illegal dumping to
                               Fumin, which literally means 鈥渉appy           team.                                           authorities.
                            people,鈥?is tucked away in an old residen-
                            tial complex at 651 Weihai Road. Every year         鈥淲e gather here frequently to sing, social-     鈥淚n the past, the riverbank was jammed
                            since its founding in 2013, the center has       ize, read and have parties,鈥?Li said.           with illegal structures and polluting fac-
                            handled an average of 1,000 requests for                                                         tory workshops. The waterway was black
                            help.                                               Since last year, about 10 old disused        and stinky,鈥?Qian said.
                                                                             neighborhood sites have been upgraded to
                               Petitioners include senior citizens, mi-      community cultural centers.                        Both the waterway and riverbank are now
                            grant workers and even wealthy entities                                                          cleaned up. Flower boxes and a walkway
                            like shopping malls. Every day from Mon-         Social conscience: helping seniors              adorn the riverbank. It鈥檚 a popular place for
                            day to Friday, volunteer lawyers sit in the                                                      daily walks or socializing with friends.
                            centers to dispense free legal advice and           Downtown Jing鈥檃n, dotted with old resi-
                            provide mediation services.                      dential complexes, has 326,500 residents           Jing鈥檃n has 12 rivers and waterways,
                                                                             60 years or older, accounting for nearly 35     stretching nearly 28 kilometers. An exten-
                               鈥淪ome people don鈥檛 know where to go for       percent of the district鈥檚 population. They      sive cleanup campaign is scheduled to be
                            help or can鈥檛 afford expensive law firms,        are not a forgotten group.                      completed by the end of this year, turning
                            so they turn to us,鈥?said lawyer Zhang Hao,                                                      riverbanks into greenbelts, promenades
                            noting that peaceful resolution of dispute          The district has built neighborhood nurs-    and parkland, and creating places of har-
                            prevents problems from turning ugly.             ing facilities that offer services like day     mony between man and nature.
                                                                             care, short-term respite care, and free in-
                            Economy: industry upgrading
                                                                             Residents of the Xinfukangli neighborhood
                               Shibei High Technology Park is a prime        express their pleasure with a photo display
                            example of how traditional smokestack in-        of local life at their newly renovated
                            dustries in old Zhabei have been converted       cultural center.
                            into clean, innovative businesses.

                               Over the years, factories have moved out,
                            replaced by modern business and residen-
                            tial complexes that are people-pleasing and
                            eco-friendly.

                               Beginning in 2010, Shibei embraced
                            the global digital revolution, transform-
                            ing itself into an information technology
                            hub. It is now home to the Shanghai Data
                            Exchange, China鈥檚 leading big data center,