A Study on Waterfront Development – Case Study of Moganshan

District, Shanghai, China

Wang Jing Yao

Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore, 4 Architecture Drive, 117566, Singapore

(E-mail: g0700179@nus.edu.sg)

Abstract
This paper mainly explores the development of Moganshan District in Shanghai, China from the
1890s till now in a chronological sequence. This area is along the Suzhou Creek and has transformed
from an industrial core to a mixture of a famous ‘art village’, abandoned industrial buildings, and
vacant areas during the past 20 years. The transformation of Moganshan District was mostly through
a bottom-up approach and initiated by private sectors until 2005 when the government began to
implement the planning of one parcel in the district. The concentration of this paper is on the
functional and spatial transformation as well as the effects of the government physical planning on
this waterfront. In the end, it indicates that the development of the waterfront area is unsustainable
and the government follow the market interest rather than implement the planning which ensures the
pubic interest.

Keywords
Waterfront; redevelopment; Moganshan district

BACKGROUND

The city of Shanghai located in a swampy area in the Yangtze River valley in the middle east of
China. Around the end of Qing Dynasty, Shiliupu (in Shanghai) became the largest port in East Asia.
Now, Shanghai is one of the world’s busiest ports and the economic centre of China. There are 3 types
of waterfront development based on different kinds of water bodies in Shanghai. The first type of
development is along the main river – Whangpoo River, which is government initiated covering large
areas. The second type of development is along the Suzhou Creek and other tributaries of Whangpoo
River, which are usually initiated by private sectors dealing with relatively smaller parcels. The third
type is the conservational development of historical towns
in the suburban areas of Shanghai which are initiated by
the government aiming to protect the historic
characteristics of the towns. This paper will study on a
case belonging to the second type of urban waterfront
development in Shanghai.

Moganshan district locates by the Suzhou Creek, in the

northeast downtown, Shanghai. This area is about 11.5
hectare and it was an industrial district from 1930s to
1980s. Upon the initiation of the reform and open policy
in China in 1978, manufactory companies and factories
moved out of the district and the buildings were
abandoned. In recent years, some artists and galleries rent
several industrial buildings and reused them as art Figure 1 The location and boundaries of
studios. In the 2000s, the government released plans and
aimed to revitalize the area. The boundaries of Moganshan District are Suzhou Creek to the north and
east, Changhua Road to the west and Moganshan Road to the south.
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

Urban waterfront redevelopment has been a ‘fashion’ in big cities around the world in recent years.
The objectives of this study are to explore the development process of a unique and famous
waterfront area, to analyze the effectiveness of the government’s physical planning on this area and to
give a perspective on the waterfront development in Shanghai. This study explores the developing
process of the waterfront in chronicle sequences with references mainly from internet databases,
academic papers and the published government documents.

THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MOGANSHAN DISTRICT FROM THE 1890S TO

THE 1980S

The origin of Moganshan industrial district and its functional characteristics

Shanghai became an international port after the first Opium War, and the Suzhou Creek was of
significant importance as the major waterway connecting Shanghai with Jiangsu province and
Zhejiang province. Moganshan district was in the foreign settlement area which had standard
municipal administration management, infrastructures and inexpensive land lease price hence
became the first choice of many factory investors (Zheng, 2004). As a result, Moganshan District
developed into an important industrial area with transportation advantages near the Suzhou Creek.

With the establishment of Fufeng Flour factory in 1900, the industry of Moganshan District began to
develop. During the 1900s to the 1940s, this district was an important component of the north Suzhou
Creek industrial area occupied entirely with national capital industries. There were 12 factories in this
district dominated by flour and textile printing industries. It was not until 1980s that the production
stopped hence the area became dilapidated (Zheng, 2004).

Figure 2 The wheat warehouse of Fufeng Flour factory, No.2 Fuxin Flour factory, No.8 Fuxin Flour factory

The spatial characteristics of Moganshan district

There were factories (4 stories or 5 stories), warehouses (normally 1 story) and residential buildings
in Moganshan District. The drawings of the factories and warehouses were designed by renowned
foreigner architects and constructed mostly in western styles, such as Decoration, Renaissance and
Modern styles. Most of the buildings were built during the period of the 1920s to the 1940s (Han and
Zhang, 2004). The density of the district was relatively high with buildings occupied nearly 46.8
percent of the land. The whole district was separated into small parcels by different factories with
walls around. In addition, there were yards along Suzhou Creek for loading and uploading the goods.

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Figure 3 The functions of sub areas (old map), The Fufeng Flour factory office (recent picture) The residential buildings
(now called Fufengli, recent pictures)

TRANSFORMATION OF MOGANSHAN DISTRICT FROM THE 1990S TO 2005

The social context and the development of the surrounding areas of Moganshan District
The Chinese government initiated the open and reform policy in 1978, and it was not until 1991 that
Shanghai was permitted to initiate reform. Most factories in the downtown
areas were forced to relocate in the suburbs, and Shanghai also
experienced continuous building boom from 1990s till now. In 1985,
while most heavy industry factories relocated in the suburbs, the
Environmental Protection Bureau (Huan Jing Bao Hu Ju) suggested to
improve the environment of Suzhou Creek and Wangpoo River. In 1993,
the construction of the sewage conduit system of Suzhou Creek was
completed. In 1998 the environmental management and improvement
regulation on Suzhou Creek was released. 1 The environment of Suzhou
Creek was better off in 2000.

During this period of time, the real estate business in Shanghai had
undergone a constant boom. The districts surrounding Moganshan area
were mostly redeveloped as high-raise housing. In 1999, the construction
of Zhongyuan Laingwan housing project was completed in the opposite Figure 4 Suzhou Creek
before (up) and after
site of Suzhou Creek to the north of Moganshan District. In 2005, Shengli (below) 1990s
Macao high raise housing project
was completed in the neighbouring
district to the south of Moganshan
District. The Moganshan District is
surrounded by high raise housing
buildings now.

In 2002, the Shanghai government

released the planning for the
adjoining districts along Suzhou
Creek, 2 covering 13.3 square
kilometers from Wongpoo River Figure 5 The high rise housing projects around Moganshan District
1
Details can be viewed at <http://www.sscrpho.org/gb/szh/zzgc/userobject1ai321.html>
2
Details can be viewed at < http://www.shghj.gov.cn/News_Show.aspx?id=9054&type=1>.
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to West Zhongshan Road. The land use of Moganshan District was planned as commercial,
recreational and green uses.3 Meantime, the regulation on the preservation of historical district and
buildings was released by the Shanghai government. Stated in the 9th clause, the industrial buildings
which were 30 years old and representative of the industrial history of Shanghai should be conserved
and enlisted as heritage buildings. As a result, 5 buildings in Moganshan District were enlisted as
heritage buildings in Shanghai (Ruan, et al, 2004).

Figure 6 Land use planning for adjoining district along Suzhou Creek in 2002 (left, green – public green open space;
orange – mix use of offices commercial and recreational; yellow – residential; blue - water); detailed plan and model for
Moganshan district and its surrounding districts. (right)

The functional transformation

Although the land use of Moganshan District is planned as commercial, recreational and green, no
private sectors developed this district hence nothing was built in this area according to the
government plan. Since the manufactory industry was no longer the pillar of Shanghai’s economy,
most factories and warehouses were abandoned. During the 1990s, most buildings in the district just
stood vacant.

Figure 7 Moganshan District in Nov 2004, buildings stood alone while the high rise constructions ongoing

In 1999, Chunming Textile factory in No.50 Moganshan Road stopped production and began to lease
the factories and warehouses to private companies. In 2000, Xue Song, a famous contemporary artist,
rent a room in Chunming textile factory as art studio (Han and Zhang, 2004). In the following years,
more buildings were leased to artists and galleries hence the ‘Artislization’ period of Moganshan
District. In 2003, the Shanghai government began to dismantle the remaining factories and
warehouses in the district. Some artists in Moganshan District strongly opposed the demolition and
spontaneously appealed to the government for the conservation of the historic industrial factories and
warehouses. Han Yunqi, Xu Feng and some other artists done field research works in No.50
Moganshan Road (Chunming Textile factory) and studied on the history of the buildings. Some
papers they wrote were published in important newspapers in Shanghai and they also published a
book called ‘Left bank of the seine of the east – the art warehouses of Suzhou Creek’. By the end of
3
Details can be viewed at < http://www.shghj.gov.cn/News_Show.aspx?id=9054&type=1>.
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2003, while some buildings in Moganshan district
were dismantled, the factories and warehouses in
No. 50 Moganshan road remained. More creative
corporations and artists came into No. 50
Moganshan Road afterwards.

By the end of 2004, Yanfeng Textile Corporation

was still at work, the 5 heritage buildings were
vacant, the residential area remained and Chunming
Textile Factory was reused as art studios and
galleries by private sectors and artists.

The spatial and physical transformation of Figure 8 The different functions of subareas (04 map)
Mogansha District
The plot density of Moganshan District decreased dramatically to about 30.5 percent after most
buildings were dismantled except for Yanfeng Textile Corporation, Chunming Textile Factory and
the 5 heritage buildings. There was spacious open space along Suzhou Creek covered with weed
while no one attended. The heritage buildings stood alone in the middle of nowhere and were lack of
maintenance. All the buildings in Moganshan District were not in good conditions. The Suzhou Creek
was inaccessible from Moganshan Road with the old factory walls and weeds by the road side.
Transformed from a factory to ‘artistic village’, the spatial character of Chunming Factory didn’t
change much. The factory walls around still block the public from the Suzhou Creek. However, the
buildings became more artists with the signs and exhibition banners on the facades.

Figure 9 The building figures in Moganshan District. (dark grey ones are buildings, recent map); 1-the entrance of the
abandoned road along Suzhou Creek; 2-the abandoned heritage buildings; 3- the buildings reused as galleries in No.50
Moganshan Road.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF MOGANSHAN DISTRICT FROM 2005 TILL NOW

As more artists and famous international art organizations came into No.50 Moganshan Road, it
became famous as an art hub in Shanghai attracting many international tourists every year. The boom
of this art district drew government attention and it released an official planning for the whole
Moganshan District in 2004 directed by Tongji Planning and Design Institute. In 2006, the Shanghai
government also released a new version of the planning for the adjoining districts along Suzhou

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Creek which is more detailed than the last version released in 2002. However, with regard to
Moganshan District, both planning seems yet to be implemented. Nevertheless, the two planning took
advantage of its geographical location and tried to enhance the accessibility and environment of the
waterfront. A large area along Suzhou Creek in Moganshan District was planned as public space and
green. 4

Figure 10 Land use planning for adjoining district along Suzhou Creek in 2006 (green – public green open space; red –
commercial and recreational uses; orange – mix use of offices, commercial and recreational; yellow - residential) and Site
plan of Moganshan District (Tongji Planning and Design Institute)

The real redevelopment of Moganshan District began with the regeneration project of No.50
Moganshan Road in 2005 when it was official named as ‘M50 creative industry district’ by the
Shanghai Government. The first phase of the regeneration project has completed in 2005 and the
physical environment of M.50 was improved. More commercial entities, such as coffee shop, record
shops and commercial galleries poured into M50. There are nearly 120 companies in M50 with half of
which were artist studios. The rent fee also rose up from 0.4 rmb per square meter per day to nearly
2-4 rmb per square meter per day (Fang, 2005). The spatial environment of Moganshan district had
not changed much. The regeneration project of M50 put more emphasize on the renovation of the
buildings rather than the public spaces. However, uniformed navigation signs were set up; the
bounding wall at the entrance was dismantled and replaced with an entering plaza. Another building
which was once the office of Fufeng Flour factory is now under regeneration to transform into an art
gallery and office to the north of M50. On the other hand, no new buildings were built in the district
and the adjoining spaces along Suzhou Creek are still full of weed.

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS

The spatial and functional evolution of Moganshan District

Moganshan District was developed for its geographic advantage along Suzhou Creek in the initial
stage. The function of the district was water-dependent use which cannot exist without water (Wrenn,
et al, 1983). As a result, nearly all the factories in the district had direct access to the water. Since this
district was used by factories, Suzhou Creek was a waterway rather than public amenity; the
waterfront was inaccessible to the public. In the 1980s, as the factories moved out of this place and the
waterway was not used for goods transportation any more, the remaining factories began to turn their
back to the water and opened their gate to the main roads. This situation led to the abandonment of the
adjoining areas along Suzhou Creek hence became inaccessible. The road along Suzhou Creek, which
was once a major road linked to the water, was obsolete as well. Although the environmental quality
of Suzhou Creek had improved significantly, the accessibility to the waterfront of had not been
4
Details can be viewed at <http://www.shghj.gov.cn/News_Show.aspx?id=9196&type=1>.
6
improved.

Figure 11 Left: routes linking sub areas with waterfront in the 1940s; Right: routes linking sub areas with waterfront in the
2000s; Blue – not directly linked to water; Orange – directly linked to water; Dark red – major roads; Green – yards
adjoining water; Dark Green – abandoned yards adjoining water

In the 1990s, nearly all the neighbouring districts of Moganshan District were developed into
housing. Since Moganshan District was surrounded by Suzhou Creek from both sides, it was the best
place to provide the huge number of residence a public waterfront. Therefore, the government tried to
regenerate this place into green space. There is a clear relationship between the functional and spatial
changes in Moganshan District. Water-dependent uses, such as manufactory, had good accessibility
to the water however block the public from it and polluted the river. Non-water-dependent use would
turn their back to the water hence the waterfront became less accessible. It might be the government’s
responsibility to redevelop the waterfront while it was abandoned by non-water-dependent use. This
problem leads to the following analysis on how government’s physical planning impacts the
development of Moganshan District.

The government’s planning of Moganshan District.

The Shanghai government released two plans – one in 2002 and the other in 2006 – regarding this
district. The land use plans of Moganshan District and it neighbouring districts didn’t change much.
However, in the 1990s, while high rise housing projects in its neighbouring districts were
implemented immediately and built up, Mogangan district was stagnant. It is possible that because
nearly 60 percent of this district was planned as public green space, no private sector can get profit
from developing this district. Only individual artists came in this place mainly because the rent price
of the abandoned factories was low. It is ironic that while such a good waterfront with heritage
buildings were obsolete and was not accessible to the public, the high rise housing projects were
carried on very successfully and speedy. The government just made plans but didn’t care to
implement it. The condition of Moganshan District might be better if the government could use
incentives to encourage the private sectors to develop this place. The only thing the government did is
to redevelopment the already famous M50 art hub.

Figure 12 Left: land use plan in 2002; Right: land use plan in 2006 (surrounding yellow and orange – high rise residential
use)

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 Figure 13 Comparison of Moganshan District and its neighbouring districts between 2005 and 2007

The M50 development pattern

M50 is a very special case for Moganshan District. It was initiated by private artists and international
art organizations (such as ShangART, the biggest contemporary art dealer and gallery in China) at
first. Because of the international organizations and the high quality art works, it became
internationally famous. While some of the artists rent the warehouses for its unique historical and art
value, some others only rent it for its low price. In either case, it succeeded in protect the historic
buildings all by private efforts which is a representative bottom-up case for heritage conservation.
The fame drew the government attention and it invested on M50. Before the government’s
intervention, there were only 33 private sectors in No.50 Moganshan Road with 26 art studios, 4
galleries, 2 non-profit art organizations and 2 commercial companies (Han, et al, 2004). Now, with
about 121 private tenants, nearly 1/3 of them are commercial companies.5 Furthermore, the rent fee
rose up from 0.4 rmb per square meter per day to nearly 2-4 rmb per square meter per day (Fang,
2005). The district became noisy and commercialized. Some artists thought it was no longer the best
place for their working because of the raising rents and increasing tourists (Fang, 2005). It is hard to
evaluate whether the government’s intervention is good to the district or not. For the artists, some of
them might have to find another place which resembles the No. 50 Moganshan Road in 2002 rather
than M50 in 2007.

Figure 14 Left: tenant composition in 2007; Middle: tenant composition in 2003; Right: comparison of the composition of
tenants between 2003 and 2007.

REFERENCE

David L.A. G. (1997). Battery Park City: politics and planning on the New York waterfront,

5
The tenant list could be viewed at < http://www.m50.com.cn/inc_alllist.asp>
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Douglas M. W., John A. C. and J. Eric S. (1993). Urban Waterfront Development, Washington, D.C. :
Urban Land Institute.
Fang Z. N. (2005). Yi Shu Ji Huo Cheng Shi – Shang Hai Mo Gan Shan Lu 50 Hao (Art Inspires the
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http://www.mindmeters.com/showlog.asp?log_id=1141 (accessed 11 December 2007)
Han Y. Q. and Zhang S. (2004). Dong Fang De Sai Na Zuo An – Su Zhou He Yan An De Yi Shu Cang
Ku (Left Bank of the Seine of the East), Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Press.
Ruan Y. S. and Zhang X. M. (2004). Shang Hai Mo Gan Shan Li Shi Gong Chang Qu Bao Hu Yu Li
Yonh Gai (Conservational Concept Planning for the Moganshan Industrial District in Shanghai),
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Reference figures
Figure 1 base map google earth and amended by the author.
Figure 2 & Figure 3 base map (left) and photos (right) Ruan Y. S. and Zhang X. M. (2004). Shang Hai
Mo Gan Shan Li Shi Gong Chang Qu Bao Hu Yu Li Yonh Gai (Conservational Concept Planning for
the Moganshan Industrial District in Shanghai), Shanghai: Tongji Planning and Design Institute,
unpublished.
Figure 4 http://images.google.com.sg/imghp?tab=wi (accessed 11 December 2007)
Figure 5 base map google earth, amended by the author. Photos shoot by the author.
Figure 6 base map (left) Shanghai Urban Planning Department. (2002). Su Zhou He Bin He Jing
Guan Gui Hua (The Adjoining District Plan along Suzhou Creek).
http://www.shghj.gov.cn/News_Show.aspx?id=9054&type=1 (accessed 11 December 2007)
figures (right) Shanghai Urban Planning Department. (2004).Su Zhou He Chang Hua Lu Qiao Di
Duan Xiang Xi Gui Hua (The Detail Plan for Changhua Road Bridge District along Suzhou Creek).
http://www.sscrpho.org/ghhss/jg/view/22.asp (accessed 11 December 2007)
Figure 7 Ruan Y. S. and Zhang X. M. (2004). Shang Hai Mo Gan Shan Li Shi Gong Chang Qu Bao
Hu Yu Li Yonh Gai (Conservational Concept Planning for the Moganshan Industrial District in
Shanghai), Shanghai: Tongji Planning and Design Institute, unpublished.
Figure 10 Shanghai Urban Planning Department. (2006). Su Zhou He Bin He Di Qu Kong Zhi Xing
Xiang Xi Gui Hua (The Detail Zoning Plan for the Adjoining District along Suzhou Creek).
http://www.shghj.gov.cn/News_Show.aspx?id=9196&type=1 (accessed 11 December 2007)
Figure 12 base map (left) Shanghai Urban Planning Department. (2002). Su Zhou He Bin He Jing
Guan Gui Hua (The Adjoining District Plan along Suzhou Creek).
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http://www.shghj.gov.cn/News_Show.aspx?id=9054&type=1 (accessed 11 December 2007), base
map (right) Shanghai Urban Planning Department. (2006). Su Zhou He Bin He Di Qu Kong Zhi Xing
Xiang Xi Gui Hua (The Detail Zoning Plan for the Adjoining District along Suzhou Creek).
http://www.shghj.gov.cn/News_Show.aspx?id=9196&type=1 (accessed 11 December 2007)

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