VideodocumentariespreserveimagesofPudongasavastexpanseofcountrysidecarpetedbyfarmlandsanddilapidatedruralhousespriorto1990.Overthesubsequent28years,tremendouschangeshavetakenplaceinthearea.
In1990,ShaoYudongbecameoneofthefirstcontributorstothedevelopmentandopeningupofPudong.HeonceservedasmemberoftheStandingCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)CommitteeofPudongNewArea,directorofthePublicityDepartmentandtheUnitedFrontWorkDepartmentofPudong鈥檚PartycommitteeandvicechairmanofthePudongcommitteeoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC).Afterhisretirementin2008,ShaoshiftedfrombeingabuilderofPudongtoaresearcher.HeisnowaguestprofessoratseveraluniversitiesandworksonresearchingthetheoriesandpracticesofPudong鈥檚developmentandopeningup.
ShaolikensPudong鈥檚developmentandopeningupoverthepast28yearstoabrillianthistoricepicwrittenbybuildersfrombothChinaandabroadwiththeirsweatandtears,presentingagloriouspaintingofthetimesthatdepictsthegreatjourneyofrealizingtheChineseDreamofnationalrejuvenation.
ChinaPictorial(CP):WhydidtheChinesegovernmentchoosePudongasanimportanttestfieldforthecountry鈥檚reformandopeningupafterestablishingseveralspecialeconomiczonesandopening14coastalcities?
Shao:Pudong鈥檚developmentandopeningupdemonstratedanecessaryandself-determinedchoiceforhistory.Infact,itwasaninnateaspirationforgenerations.Asearlyas1919,Dr.SunYat-sen,thepioneerofChina鈥檚democraticrevolution,presentedtheideaofbuildingPudongintoamajorharborintheEastinhisbookTheInternationalDevelopmentofChina.Restrictedbynationalconditionsatthetime,however,thisdreamwasdifficulttoachieve.
FromthefoundingofthePeople鈥檚RepublicofChinain1949to1990,Shanghai,knownasthe鈥渆ldestsonofChina鈥檚economy,鈥漴emainedamajorcontributortonationalrevenues.Aftercontributingmassivesumstothenationaltreasury,thecity鈥檚remainingrevenuescouldbarelycovernecessaryexpendituresinurbanconstruction.Consequently,thecitylackedthefundsforthedevelopmentofPudong,whichisjustacrosstheHuangpuRiverfromtheBundandNanjingRoad,themostbustlingplacesinShanghai.Inthepast,residentsofdowntownShanghaicalledPudongthe鈥渃ountryside,鈥漚ndevenlocalsofPudongdidn鈥檛considerthemselvesShanghaineseandcolloquiallycalledcrossingtherivertodowntown鈥済oingtoShanghai.鈥滲ackthen,Shanghaifacedawidearrayofdifficultiesinurbandevelopment:trafficcongestion,inconvenienttransportationblockedbytheriver,insufficienthousingandenvironmentalpollution.However,suchchallengeskindledlocals鈥檃spirationsfordevelopmentandinspiredthemtostrivetodevelopthroughreformandopeningup.PeopleinthecitylongedtorevivethepastgloryofShanghai.
BasedontheinitiativeofDengXiaoping,chiefarchitectofChina鈥檚reformandopeningup,theChinesegovernmentmadethestrategicdecisiontodevelopandopenShanghai鈥檚Pudongarea.OnApril18,1990,ChinaofficiallyannouncedaplantobuildPudongNewArea.ThisannouncementelevatedthedevelopmentandopeningupofPudongtoanationalkeystrategyandheraldedthedawnofPudong鈥檚developmentandopeningup.ShanghaiseizedthehistoricopportunityarisingfromChina鈥檚reformandopeningupandstunnedtheworldwithPudong鈥檚development.
Sincehisretirement,ShaoYudonghasbeendevotedtoresearchingthetheoriesandpracticeofPudong鈥檚developmentandopeningup.byQiaoZhenqiCP:WhatarethefactorsthatfueledthemiraculousachievementsofPudong鈥檚developmentandopeningup?
Shao:Pudong鈥檚developmentandopeningupcanbeattributedtoacombinationoftop-leveldesignanddown-to-earthstruggle.Sincetheverybeginning,Pudongreceivedintenseattentionindevelopmentplanning.Withoutawell-designedblueprint,atailorwilldestroyapieceoffinefabricifheorsherushestocutit.So,ShanghaiorganizedseveralinternationalseminarsfortheplanningofPudong鈥檚construction.Toplanthe1.7-squarekilometercoreareaofLujiazuiFinanceandTradeZone,Pudongorganizedtwointernationalseminarsattractingmorethan30expertsandarchitectsfromadozencountries.Manyarchitectspresenteddistinctivedesigns.After17roundsofdiscussionsandmodificationsovertwoyears,thefinalblueprintfortheconstructionofLujiazuiwasapproved.AmodelofthefinalblueprintisnowhousedattheNationalMuseumofChina.ItwasthefirsttimeChinacarriedoutspecificinternationalconsultationandpooledglobalwisdomtoplanadevelopmentzone.
InadditiontoLujiazui,manylandmarkbuildingsofPudongarefruitsofglobalwisdom.ManyarchitectsfromaroundtheworldwereinvitedtodesignstructuresthereincludingShanghaiPudongInternationalAirport,ShanghaiOrientalArtCenter,ShanghaiNewInternationalExpoCenterandCenturyPark.
Moreover,Pudong鈥檚developmentadoptedastrategycombining鈥渞ichplanning鈥漚nd鈥渁ffordabledevelopment.鈥漅ichplanningreferstoaiminghighandlookingtothefuturewhenformulatinganoveralldevelopmentplan.Affordabledevelopmentreferstoimplementingthedevelopmentplanstep-by-stepandconsideringfuturedevelopmentoverthecoming30to50yearsratherthanpursuingquicksuccessandunrealistictargetsbeyondcapacity.Indeed,PudongNewAreawasbuiltincrementallybasedonitsavailablemanpower,fundsandresources.Intheearlysummerof2017,the5,000-square-meterbloomingpurpletopvervainformeda鈥渟eaof铿俹wers鈥漣ntheMontrealGardenofCenturyParkinPudong,Shanghai,drawingtouristsandlocalresidentsalike.VCGCP:WhatbenefitshaveordinarypeopleenjoyedfromPudong鈥檚developmentandopeningup?
Shao:Pudonghasalwaysaligneditsdevelopmentandopeningupwiththeimprovementofpeople鈥檚livingstandards.InthebeginningofPudong鈥檚development,welauncheda鈥渓ocomotiveprogram鈥漣nwhichvariousfunctionalzonestooktheinitiativetostimulatethedevelopmentofneighboringtownships.Adevelopmentzonewasresponsibleforsupportingthedevelopmentoftheplacewhereitislocated.Itplacedpriorityontrainingandhiringlocalswhocouldbecomequalifiedforrelevantjobswhileinjectingvitalityintolocaltownshipenterprisesbybringingininvestmentortechnologicalinstruction.Majordevelopersplayedtheroleof鈥渓ocomotives,鈥漚ndneighboringtownshipsbecame鈥渃arriages鈥漟orlocalfarmersandresidentsas鈥減assengers.鈥漈ogethertheyformasortof鈥渢rain鈥漜huggingforwardtogether,withnooneleftbehind.
In2017,percapitadisposableincomeinPudonghit60,715yuan(US$8,830),higherthanShanghai鈥檚average.Thegrowthrateofresidents鈥檌ncomewashigherthanthatofGDP.Lastyear,Pudong鈥檚GDPgrewby8.7percentyear-on-year,whiletheaverageincomeofitsresidentsincreasedby9.2percentyear-on-year.Eachyear,morethanone-thirdofPudong鈥檚fiscalexpendituregoestofieldsconcerningpeople鈥檚livelihoodssuchasemployment,medicalcareandeducation.Today,Pudongprovides614schoolsforbasiceducationandhosts1,098medicalinstitutionsincluding10third-gradepublichospitals.Moreover,ithasbuiltgovernment-subsidizedhousingofover30millionsquaremeters,benefitingamillionpeoplein300,000households.Pudongalsohaslargelibraries,stadiumsand100-plusplacesofworshipopentothepublic,anditspercapitavegetationareahashit25.44squaremeters.
Nowadays,Pudongfocusesasmuchonsocialdevelopmentandsocialprogressasonbuildingskyscrapersandgrowingtheeconomy.
CP:WhatinfluencehasPudong鈥檚developmentandopeningupexertedonthepeople鈥檚mindsets?
Shao:AttheoutsetofPudong鈥檚development,manywerestillfocusedonplannedeconomyphilosophies.Beforeperformingajob,theyalwaysawaitedinstructionsfromsuperiorsorsearchedrelevantgovernmentdocumentsforpermission.Weweredoingsomethingunprecedentedthatrequiredthecouragetoinnovateandbreakthrougholdsystems.Itwouldneverhaveworkedifwehadstucktoourformerworkingmethods.WeemancipatedourmindsandpioneeredmanynewpracticesinPudong.OnemajorbreakthroughPudonghasmadeduringitsreformandopeningupoverthepast28yearsisthatwenolongerask鈥渨hatwecando,鈥漛utinsteadask鈥渨hatwecannotdo.鈥漌eneedtotakeboldactiontoattemptnewthings,beingboundonlytoexistinglawsandregulations.
IntheearlydaysofPudong鈥檚development,largeamountsoffundswereneededtocarryoutinfrastructureprojects,buttheinitialcapitalranshortquickly.In1992,weboldlyadoptedthepracticeof鈥渃onductinglandtransferwithidlepubliccapital.鈥滻ntimesofseverefundshortages,thispracticeeffectivelyfacilitatedthegovernment鈥檚demonstrativeandleadingroleininvestment.Ofcourse,italsoreceivedpushbackandcriticism.Somearguedthatitdidn鈥檛conformtoanyexistinggovernmentdocumentsorpolicies.
Today,ithasbecomeconsensusinPudongtotakeonmoreresponsibilities,askforfewerinstructions,eliminateemptytalkandseekgreaterinnovation.Pudongencouragesinnovationandtoleratesmistakes.CP:HowwillPudongNewAreaachievegreaterdevelopmentinthenewera?
Shao:LocalleadershaveaclearvisionofPudong鈥檚futuredevelopment.Rightnow,Pudongisgoingtogreatlengthstoimplementnationalstrategiesasitfacesgreaterandgreaterdifficultyinpromotingindustrialrestructuringlargelyduetouncertaintiesintheglobaleconomy.Moreover,thedevelopmentofitsculturalindustrycannotmatchthepaceofitseconomicgrowth.Pudongmayberichinhumanresourcesandcommercialatmosphere,butitisinsufficientinculturalambience.Theadministrativecapacityofthelocalgovernmentdoesn鈥檛meettheneedsofmodernurbandevelopment.OnemuststayvigilantwhenwalkingonthiniceandrememberXiJinping鈥檚warningofthedangersofincapacity.Theoverallqualityofcitizenshasbeenoutpacedbydemandformodernurbandevelopment.
So,westillhavealongwaytogotocompletethedevelopmentandopeningupofPudong.Constructionofamoderncityshouldtargetall-rounddevelopment.AlongsidegrowthinGDP,itshouldalsoenhancethemoralqualityofsociety,improvetheculturalambianceofitspeopleandstrengthentheruleoflaw.Moreover,Pudonghasyettocompletelyfulfillitsresponsibilitiesintermsofnationaldevelopment.
IfwecomparePudong鈥檚developmentandopeninguptoasymphonyorchestraperformance,DengXiaopingwasthecomposer,andtheCPCCentralCommitteewithXiJinpingatthecoreistheconductor.EverycontributortoPudongisaperformer.Together,theirperformanceisasongfortheages,theanthemofChina鈥檚reformandopeningup.ThegreatrejuvenationoftheChinesenationbelongsnotonlytoChina,butalsototheworld.