Putuo

Putuo District is a municipal district of Shanghai and is located in the northwest area of downtown, where the city and rural outskirts coalesce. The district borders Baoshan District to the north, Jing ‘an District to the east and southeast, Changning District to the southwest and Jiading District to the west. As an old industrial zone the Putuo area used to depend on textile or flour industries. However, with a policy of reform and opening-up, it has developed into a comprehensive industrial park in a relatively short time. Due to the development of real estate, logistics, commerce, modern urban industry and the growth of tourism, its economy is growing every year. Given this rapid growth Putuo is now planning to become the modernized trade market for Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta economic zone. The Putuo District, often referred to as Shanghai’s “west hall lounge”, is the primary junction of road transportation in the western half of the region.The Shanghai-Nanjing Railway and the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway merge  together at the Shanghai West Railway Station creating one large multi-modal terminus. The Zhennan Road and the Cao’an Road, respectively the starting point of national road No.204 and No. 312, and the Shanghai-Jiaxing Highway begins iin the northwestern sector and the Shanghai-Nanjing Highway in the western sector. The city’s inner ring highway, middle ring highway, and outer ring highway also run across the district. The existence of the three main tributary roads working in tandem throughout the district with the Metro lines 3, 4, 7, 11 and 13 connecting with the other districts means that Putuo has a highly effective transport network. The Putou District, historically know for hosuing many squatter settlerments, began building Shanghai’s first workers’ quarters in 1951 – and eventually set up more than sixty residential quarters. In the past ten years, the old squatter settlements have all been revamped or reconstructed, and over three hundred skyscrapers now tower over the district. Covering 2150sqm, the Shanghai Wanli City, is a perfect representation of this modern wave of development that has swept through the old city. This urbanization has enabled city infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, to flourish and it’s now clear that the whol district is pushing to build a new Putuo.