2024 Dialogue with the District Party Secretary | The First Stop from the Southwest to Shanghai: How to Create a “City Reception Hall”?
As the first station entering Shanghai from the southwest, how can Shanghai Songjiang Station leverage its “window” effect to create a “city reception hall”? How does the development of Songjiang University Town, as Shanghai’s earliest university town, complement the construction of Songjiang New City? How can innovative and entrepreneurial talents settle and thrive here?
Recently, several organizations, including Shanghai’s major research initiative, The Paper, and Shanghai People’s Broadcasting Station, launched a series of multimedia interviews titled “2024 Dialogue with District Party Secretaries.” “Innovation and technology are the foundation, and universities are the main force,” said Wang Huajie, Secretary of the Songjiang District Committee, during the program. He emphasized the need to integrate the scientific and technological resources of Songjiang University Town to accelerate the transformation and application of technological achievements.
In response to questions about how to improve transportation connections at the “Songjiang Hub,” Wang Huajie announced that Songjiang will soon launch nine new bus routes, including six within the district and three inter-district routes, to meet the public transportation needs of residents along these lines. Additionally, Songjiang is actively seeking to introduce more rail transit lines to the “Songjiang Hub” to achieve connectivity with Shanghai’s central urban area, five new towns, and international hubs.
Combining Innovation and Higher Education
From Guangfulin to Huating County and then to Songjiang Prefecture, ancient Songjiang has been regarded as the birthplace of Shanghai’s historical and cultural heritage. This region, known for its rich agricultural resources, has historically been a hub of culture, nurturing scholars such as Lu Ji, Lu Yun, Dong Qichang, and Chen Jiru.
Wang Huajie noted that since the Sui and Tang dynasties, Songjiang has produced five top scholars; during the Ming Dynasty, over 280 scholars were recognized, ranking third in the nation for the number of scholars during the Ming and Qing dynasties. “In ancient times, education was highly valued, and modern Songjiang places even greater emphasis on education.” Therefore, during the planning and construction of Shanghai’s “One City and Nine Towns” two decades ago, the university town was identified as a crucial component of the new city development.
Songjiang University Town is the earliest and largest university town in Shanghai, covering 8,000 acres and housing eight universities with over 100,000 faculty and students across various disciplines. Many students choose to stay in Songjiang for innovation and entrepreneurship after graduation.
Walking through the campus of Donghua University, Wang Huajie highlighted the university’s numerous key laboratories, research centers, and scientific research platforms. Notably, the National Key Laboratory for Fiber Material Modification has achieved remarkable results, receiving 23 national science and technology achievement awards and over 1,400 authorized invention patents since its establishment. It is worth mentioning that the laboratory’s projects that received national science and technology achievement awards were completed in collaboration with enterprises through industry-university-research cooperation, facilitating practical applications and promoting the development and transformation of key common technologies in the industry. This has created new growth points in fields such as advanced fiber new materials and lightweight composite materials for civil aviation and automobiles, significantly contributing to the high-quality development of the local economy and society.
As the source of the Yangtze River Delta G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, innovation is the foundation of Songjiang, with universities serving as the main force. To accelerate the transformation and application of innovative achievements, Songjiang is also creating more entrepreneurial spaces and industry-education integration bases. Currently, under the guidance of municipal departments, Songjiang is deepening the planning scheme for the Songjiang University Town Innovation Source. The “source” in Innovation Source represents a source of power and vitality. “In the future, the construction of Songjiang New City and the overall development of Songjiang District must fully utilize and tap into the excellent resources of Songjiang University Town to foster growth.”
Attracting and Retaining Talent
As a local government, how can Songjiang provide effective services to universities and ensure that innovative and entrepreneurial talents can settle and thrive in the area?
At the center of the Songjiang New City headquarters research and development functional area stands the Zhongjian Xingfu Talent Apartment, one of the first “New Era Urban Builders’ Homes” in Shanghai. This is the largest talent apartment and affordable rental housing in Songjiang District, covering a total construction area of 160,000 square meters, with 2,407 rental units in various configurations, including one-bedroom, one-bedroom with living room, two-bedroom with living room, three-bedroom with living room, and hotel-style large flats. It also features over 3,000 square meters of commercial space to meet the daily needs of the community, surrounding residents, and employees from various parks. Wang Huajie mentioned that this talent apartment benefits from Songjiang District’s talent rental subsidy policy, serving as a tangible representation of Songjiang’s efforts to attract and retain talent. Currently, the signing rate exceeds 95%.
The public areas and facilities of Zhongjian Xingfu Talent Apartment are a highlight, offering residents a 5,000-square-meter “Enjoy Cloud Corridor,” which includes a continuous fitness trail for summer nights, outdoor movies, and social gatherings. There is also a 1,350-square-meter shared space equipped with a shared kitchen, gym, audio-visual area, board game area, and party-building activity area.
“Songjiang’s development requires everyone’s participation; we need to ensure that talent can be ‘attracted and retained,'” Wang Huajie stated. To enhance the satisfaction, sense of belonging, and community governance cohesion among young talents, the apartment will open a Party-Mass Service Center in April 2024, creating a comprehensive service platform that integrates services, culture, entertainment, and leisure. This will effectively incorporate various party-building service resources, policy resources, and educational resources into the talent apartment. Additionally, to meet the diverse needs of young talents in the apartment, the Party-Mass Center will regularly conduct policy promotion, health services, public welfare activities, and educational programs based on the “Zhongjian Xingfu Family Project List.” The Party-Mass Service Center will further integrate various party-building service resources, policy resources, and educational resources into the Zhongjian Xingfu Talent Apartment, ensuring that young talents can truly achieve “a stable home and a joyful heart” in the apartment.
“The First Stop Entering Shanghai from the Southwest”
With the countdown to the operation of the Huzhou-Su-Hang High-Speed Railway, Shanghai Songjiang Station will become the first major station entering Shanghai from the southwest. As the largest newly built station among the eight stations along the Huzhou-Su-Hang High-Speed Railway, it features a magnificent area of over 60,000 square meters and a unique architectural design that vividly embodies Shanghai’s urban character of “openness, innovation, and inclusiveness.” From here, passengers can easily reach Shanghai’s central urban area via express lines and metro.
According to reports, after the Huzhou-Su-Hang High-Speed Railway opens at the end of this year, Shanghai Songjiang Station will become an important node in the rapid railway passenger transport network between cities in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta, connecting 80% of the major cities in the region, with an expected annual passenger flow of 25 million. Songjiang District is committed to transforming the station into a “city reception hall” that integrates functional gathering and cultural heritage. In addition to continuously strengthening its basic functions as a commuting hub, it will actively promote the city’s image and provide “one-stop” supporting services, including exhibitions, leisure, dining, and consulting.
To meet the public transportation needs of residents along the route, Songjiang will soon launch nine new bus routes, including six within the district (one of which is a night service) and three inter-district routes, namely Lesong Special Line (towards Jinshan), Nansong Special Line (towards Fengxian), and the Songjiang Hub-Shanghai South Station route. Additionally, Songjiang is actively seeking to introduce more rail transit lines to the hub to achieve connectivity with Shanghai’s central urban area, five new towns, and international hubs.
Furthermore, with the opening of the Huzhou-Su-Hang High-Speed Railway and the operation of Shanghai Songjiang Station, Songjiang will further amplify the high-speed rail “same-city effect,” promoting the free flow and efficient allocation of innovation, supply, industry, and talent chains within the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor. This will contribute significantly to the in-depth and practical advancement of the innovation corridor and better serve the national strategy for integrated development in the Yangtze River Delta and the construction of Shanghai’s “Five Centers.” Reports indicate that once the Huzhou-Su Expressway is completed, it will connect the Songjiang Hub with the Hongqiao International Open Hub, and the planned east-west connection line will directly reach the Pudong Oriental Hub, ultimately achieving rapid connections among the three major hubs.
