Guest
Zhou Huizhen
Interview Background
Forge Ahead on a New Journey and Showcase “Jing’an Style”! To showcase the vivid practice of Jing’an District fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and working hard to create an example of modern Chinese urbanization, the Media Convergence Center of Jing’an District has launched a special series of reports entitled “Conversations on the Vivid Practice of Chinese-style Modernization in Jing’an: Interview with Secretaries of Sub-districts and Towns of Jing’an District”. 14 top officials have been invited to share their experience, discuss development, and talk about the future.
Host:
Hello, everyone. Welcome to today’s online interview. Our guest is Zhou Huizhen, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of West Nanjing Road Sub-district. Hello, Ms. Zhou.
Zhou Huizhen:
Hello, host. Hello, everyone.
Host:
Over the past 30 years, West Nanjing Road Sub-district has enhanced people’s livelihoods and welfare, benefiting the community by creating a “15-minute Community Life Circle”. Following the concept of “ensuring residents’ well-being and building a charming urban center”, the sub-district emphasizes the quality of life of residents living and working in the sub-district and the creation of a charming urban core activity area. Please tell us more about it.
Zhou Huizhen:
The “15-minute Community Life Circle” ensures that most of the daily needs of community residents can be met within a 15-minute walking radius. To allow people to “take a rest” and “catch a breath” while walking, West Nanjing Road Sub-district, with support from relevant district departments, has built exquisite and small “pocket parks” amidst the downtown areas. These parks serve as an “oasis” in the city, enabling community residents to enjoy scenic views from their windows and experience “simple joys” just a few steps from their homes. Nearby white-collar workers and pedestrians can also pause for a restful break while walking. Amid a fast-paced life and heavy work pressures, “pocket parks” provide a place of tranquility.
Host:
I learned that Tongfu Garden, located at the southwest corner of the intersection between West Nanjing Road and Shimen No.1 Road, is one of the “pocket parks”.
Zhou Huizhen:
Yes. “Tongfu” symbolizes collective happiness and positive expectations for a joyful life. It not only emphasizes the concept of a “people-centered city” but also aligns with the sub-district’s mission of “ensuring residents’ well-being and building a charming urban center”. Tongfu Garden was originally the entrance and exit building and open space of an underground substation. Through communication and coordination with the functional departments of Jing’an District, it has been transformed into its current form through thoughtful landscape design. Located in a bustling area with well-developed transportation and close to business districts such as Wujiang Road Leisure Street and HKRI Taikoo Hui, Tongfu Garden has attracted many visitors. The colorful trees and flowering shrubs planted there are deeply loved by residents, making it a popular “must-visit spot for hairawn muhly appreciation” on the Internet.
Zhou Huizhen:
At the southeast corner of the intersection between Qinghai Road and West Nanjing Road, not far from Tongfu Garden, there is also Shiying Garden. This garden was once the site of the contact point between the CPC Central Committee and the Communist International. The garden features swaying tree shadows and various flowers, including plum blossoms, crape myrtle, and red maple. Its distinctive garden paths, pavilions, and benches offer a special experience for residents seeking leisure.
Host:
Pocket parks epitomize West Nanjing Road Sub-district’s efforts to deepen the construction of a “15-minute Community Life Circle” in recent years. This initiative provides a convenient and intimate travel experience for community residents, thus improving the environmental quality of the entire urban area.
Zhou Huizhen:
Yes. The sub-district has installed many seats along the paths, actively carried out cleaning and maintenance work, and promoted the disposal of dynamic waste on main sections such as West Nanjing Road in 7-10 minutes. This efficiency relies on over 300 intelligent sensing devices and 114 renewable resource recycling stations deployed by the sub-district’s Urban Operation Center and the “1+4” joint service mechanism for urban management. The sub-district has also effectively protected the urban environment through the “3301” working mechanism (arrival within 3 minutes when problems are found, resolution within 30 minutes for general problems, and implementation of solutions within 1 day for challenging problems). It aims to make “sitting on the ground” a hallmark of the sub-district’s image and environmental quality.
Host:
West Nanjing Road Sub-district has always attached great emphasis on promoting community cultural work. It has created common spiritual wealth with residents to satisfy everyone’s urgent expectations and yearning for community cultural services and collaboratively envision a happy life. Can you tell us more about that?
Zhou Huizhen:
In the Gubai Residential Community on Fumin Road within the sub-district, there is a cultural activity space called Fumin Hall that is deeply integrated into the residential area, making it conveniently “next door” to residents. Gubai Residential Community was originally the staff dormitory of the Four Banks Savings Association before liberation. At that time, Fumin Hall was known as the “Staff Dormitory Auditorium of Four Banks Savings Association” and was mainly used for banquets, clubs, and chess and card rooms for bank staff, not open to residents. Since 2011, West Nanjing Road Sub-district has rebuilt the “Auditorium” and reopened it to residents under the name “Fumin Hall”.
Zhou Huizhen:
Today, Fumin Hall hosts various cultural programs that cater to different tastes. Traditional cultural programs loved by the elderly, such as Pingtan, Quyi, traditional Chinese opera, calligraphy, and painting, are featured alongside novel and fashionable cultural programs like fashion shows, flower arrangement art, cooking displays, and film screenings. Residents can come here to watch and participate in these activities. During traditional festivals, Fumin Hall also organizes traditional cultural activities such as lantern riddle guessing, lion dance performances, and making zongzi.
Zhou Huizhen:
With the increasing popularity and growing number of participants in various cultural activities, the venue space at the Fumin Hall has faced challenges in meeting public cultural demands. Therefore, the sub-district initiated internal renovations at the Fumin Hall in July 2020. After two years of refurbishment, it has reopened to the public. The new Fumin Hall has further improved its theater-style stage and multimedia equipment. The second floor, previously used as an office space, has been expanded into a new cultural service area. It now includes additional rooms for calligraphy and painting, intangible cultural heritage activities, reading spaces, and a multi-functional hall. These improvements enhance the functionality of the community cultural activity center, providing various leisure, entertainment, and communication spaces for community residents and residential quarter cultural teams and promoting the flourishing development of cultural brands and teams rooted in the community, serving the community, and originating from the community. In the first half of 2023, Fumin Hall organized a total of 27 special cultural events, including art docent-guided tours, cultural lectures, group performances, and DIY workshops. These events attracted thousands of residents as audience members.
Host:
I have also learned that in recent years, the West Nanjing Road Sub-district has been actively promoting the construction and development of various cultural facilities and services. Their efforts are aimed at enabling residents to enjoy high-quality cultural services right at their doorstep. Furthermore, the sub-district has been actively expanding the richness of cultural activities and offerings.
Zhou Huizhen:
Indeed, we have created 22 distinctive cultural teams such as the “Xinrong Gubai” Shanghai Rap Team composed of elderly residents and the “White-collar Worker Art Troupe” formed by nearby white-collar workers, and developed “Fumin Top Ten” special cultural brand activities including the “Fumin Nanxi Art Season”, “Fumin Art”, “Fumin Book Market”, “Fumin Grand Stage”, “Fumin Cinema”, and “Fumin Salon Valley”. These initiatives aim to promote the establishment of standards for a cultural community featuring excellence, professionalism, and uniqueness, adding a unique connotation to a high-quality lifestyle.
Host:
Recently, initiated by the West Nanjing Road Sub-district, the “West Nanjing Road Sub-district Community Health Alliance” was officially established with the participation of 18 hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and media units. The alliance conducted its inaugural roundtable forum focusing on the “health needs of office workers”.
Zhou Huizhen:
Absolutely, the alliance will focus on “prevention and treatment of common diseases among white-collar workers, health knowledge dissemination, improvement of health literacy, and promotion of healthy lifestyle” to guide the involvement of high-quality public medical institutions, foreign enterprises in the health industry, and media promotional resources, among others in the region. The alliance will carry out diverse activities to promote people’s focus on health in buildings, enterprises, and communities to form collaborative efforts of safeguarding and promoting health, further optimizing the business environment, creating livable communities, and establishing a “Healthy West Nanjing Road Sub-district”.
Host:
I believe this is a testament to the West Nanjing Road Sub-district’s commitment to further optimize the business environment and continuously upgrade services for white-collar workers, serving as a microcosm of the collective efforts to safeguard and promote health.
Zhou Huizhen:
The “Fumin Lecture” has organized numerous events, providing white-collar workers and residents with a wide range of informative lectures on topics such as learning and practicing topics, health and wellness, and legal consultations. The sub-district adheres to the principle of addressing the needs of white-collar workers and coordinates the abundant resources from various regional units to serve both enterprises and white-collar workers through initiatives like the regional Party building “For the Welfare of People” and the General Trade Union of Jing’an District‘s “One Hour at Noon”, as well as activities like Business Partner Day and Enterprise Open Day. Moreover, the sub-district has also uploaded a series of theoretical learning, business courses, legal consultations, and other services to the “cloud” within the buildings, bringing them directly to the white-collar workers. This initiative has reached broader white-collar workers with a combination of online and offline channels.
Host:
Please provide us with a glimpse of the sub-district’s future development.
Zhou Huizhen:
In the future, under the strong leadership of the CPC Jing’an District Committee and Jing’an District People’s Government, the West Nanjing Road Sub-district will further implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Adhering to the important concept of a “people-centered city”, the sub-district aims to fulfill the aspirations of community residents for a good life. By continuously enhancing the efficiency of party-mass service platforms and improving the service scenarios within the “15-minute Community Life Circle”, the sub-district will place particular emphasis on the renovation and upgrading of the “Life Service Centers” this year to further promote high-quality development, create high-quality life, and achieve efficient governance, thus contributing the efforts of West Nanjing Road Sub-district to Jing’an District’s creation of a model of modern Chinese urbanization.
Host:
This is the end of today’s interview. Thank you for your participation, see you next time!
Zhou Huizhen:
Thank you, bye!