Skip to main content
Built Heritage
Download PDF

Volume 2 Supplement 2

20th-Century Heritage: Exploring the New Futures of the Recent Past

Industrial Heritage Valorisation and Creative Industry Proliferation in Shanghai’s Urban Regeneration

Built Heritage volume 2, pages 76–92 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

While industrial manufacturing is giving way to the creative economy in the 21st century, Shanghai—similar to many major cities around the world—is keen to bolster a stronger economy and increase its competitiveness by encouraging the development of cultural and creative industries. Over the past decade, the Shanghai municipal government has made a concerted effort to exploit the heritage assets of the city’s industrial past to reform its economic structure. There has been a deliberate attempt to establish a stronger correlation between industrial heritage conservation and creative industry cluster development. The aim of this research is to investigate the process of converting former industrial sites into loci of creativity. In doing so, we can determine the main actors, how different stakeholder groups came into play and the evolution of the subtle interplay between the designation of heritage architecture and that of creative industry cluster. Drawing on qualitative research methods, this paper presents a detailed analysis of three case studies in Shanghai: M50 Creative Park, 1933 Shanghai and the Cool Docks. The results reveal the changing positions of three major stakeholder groups. Whereas the private sector and the general public have developed increasing interests in the embedded economic and cultural values of the former industrial structures, local government has consciously reduced its presence and influence in valorising industrial heritage. Thus, the growing public awareness of cultural heritage protection and the increasing interest in the economic contribution of cultural and creative industries are intrinsic to Shanghai’s reindustrialisation in the 21st century.

References

  • Denison, Edward, and Guangyu Ren. 2006. Building Shanghai: The Story of China’s Gateway. Chichester: Wiley Academy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Florida, Richard L. 2005. Cities and the Creative Class. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Friedmann, John. 2005. China’s Urban Transition. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • González Martínez, Plácido. 2017. “Urban Authenticity at Stake: A New Framework for Its Definition from the Perspective of Heritage at the Shanghai Music Valley.” Cities 70: 55–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Kun. 2013. “Pujiang liang’an zhongdian diqu gongye yichan baohu yanjiu.” [The Conservation of Industrial Heritage of Vital Areas Along Huangpu River] Urban Planning Forum 2013 (8): 141–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Xin. 2012. “The Art of Re-Industrialisation in Shanghai.” Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research 4 (3): 193–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, Jinliao. 2014. Creative Industry Districts: An Analysis of Dynamics, Networks and Implications on Creative Clusters in Shanghai. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • He, Wei, and Xiaoming Zhu. 2012. “ Shanghai gongbuju zaishengchang jianzhu dang’an yanjiu.” [A Research on the Architectural Archives of the Shanghai Municipal Council Abattoir] Time+Architecture 2012 (3): 105–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, Wei. 2011. “Shanghai gongbuju zaishengchang jianzhu dang’an yanjiu.” [Research on Architecture Archives of the Slaughter House of Shanghai Municipal Council] Master Diss., Tongji University.

  • Ju, Ye-Xin, Hong-Yuan Mei, and Teng Fei. 2010. “Cong jiuchangfang dao bowuguan—gongye yichan baohu yu zaisheng de xin tujing.” [From Old Factory to Museum: New Way of Industry Heritage Protection and Regeneration] Building Science 26 (6):14–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kong, Lily, and Justin O’Connor, eds. 2009. Creative Economies, Creative Cities: Asian-European Perspectives The Geojournal Library. Dordrecht Springer.

  • Landry, Charles. 2008. The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators. 2nd ed. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Cheng, and Zhen Li. 2011. “Qianlun Shanghai gongye yichan zaisheng moshi—shibo beijing xia gongye yichan de zuotian jintian he mingtian.” [The Reuse Pattern of Shanghai Industrial Heritage: Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow of Industrial Heritage over Expo 2010] Huazhong Architecture 2011 (3):177–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Shao-Ming, Jia-Hui Diao, Hao-Lin Zhao, Zhao Li, Li Ye, and Xian Wang. 2012. “Gangkou chengshi de jiti jiyi ‘matou yichan’—yi Shanghai weili.” [Study on Collective Memories in Port Cities: A Case Study of Shanghai] Modern Urban Research 2012 (10): 39–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luan, Feng, Huai Wang, and Yue An. 2013. “Shanghai shishu chuangyi chanye yuanqu de fazhan licheng yu zongti kongjian fenbu tezheng.” [The Development of Creative Industrial Parks in Shanghai and Their Spatial Features] Urban Planning Forum 2013 (2): 70–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ma, Yun-Xia. 2009. “Dui Shanghai jiu gongye yichan baohuqu—Shanghai chuangyi chanye yuanqu xianzhuang de fansi.” [Consideration on the Preservation and Rehabilitation of Shanghai Industrial Heritage] Industrial Construction 39 (12): 36–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, Justin, and Xin Gu. 2012. “Creative Industry Clusters in Shanghai: A Success Story?” International Journal of Cultural Policy 20 (1): 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, Justin. 2009. “Shanghai Moderne: Creative Economy in a Creative City?” In Creative Economies, Creative Cities: Asian-European Perspectives, edited by Lily Kong and Justin O’Connor, 175–193. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pendlebury, John, Yi-Wen Wang, and Andrew Law. 2018. “Re-Using ‘Uncomfortable Heritage’: The Case of the 1933 Building, Shanghai.” International Journal of Heritage Studies 24 (3): 211–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruan, Yisan, and Song Zhang. 2004. “Chanye yichan baohu tuidong dushi wenhua chanye fazhan—Shanghai wenhua chanyequ mianlin de jiyu.” [The Promotion of Industrial Heritage Conservation on Cultural Business: The Difficulties and Opportunities for Cultural Industry Clusters Development in Shanghai] Urban Planning Forum 2004 (4): 53–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanghai Creative Industry Investment Co. Ltd. 2007. 1933 Old Millfun. Shanghai: Lianghong Print.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio Broadcasting, Film and Television. 2012. “Dui Shanghai wenhua chuangyi chanye yuanqu fazhan moshi de lujing de diaoyan yu sikao.” [Analysis of the Development Pattern of Cultural and Creative Industry Clusters in Shanghai] Accessed 28 January 2014. http://wgj.sh.gov.cn/wgj/node743/node763/node1350/u1a78893.html

  • Shanghai Municipal Govertment. 2017. “Guanyu shenhua chengshi youji gengxin cujin lishi fengmao baohu gongzuo de ruogan yijian.”[Several Opinions on Deepening Organic Urban Renewal and Promoting Historical Scenery Protection] Shanghai: Shanghai Municipal Govertment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, Zilai. 2015. “Chengshi gengxin de jiazhi quxiang.” [The Value Orientation in Urban Regeneration] In Chengshi youji gengxin Shanghai zai xingdong [Organic Urban Renewal: Shanghai in Action], edited by Shanghai Planning and Land Resource Administration Bureau and Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute, 260–263. Shanghai: SUSAS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tung, Chien-Tzu. 2009. “Shanghai wenhua chuangyi chanye kongjian fazhan jizhi yanjiu: tianzifang, M50 yu Laochangfang.” [The Spatial Mechanisms of Cultural Creative Industrial Development in Shanghai: Case Study by Tianzifang Community, M50 and Old Millfun 1933] Master diss., Ming Chuan University.

  • Wang, Jun. 2009. “‘Art in Capital’: Shaping Distinctiveness in a Culture-Led Urban Regeneration Project in Red Town, Shanghai.” Cities 26 (6): 318–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Xiangyi. 2013. “From Industrial Heritage to Creative Industry: A Case Study of Shanghai.” Bachelor diss., Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

  • Wang, Yi-Wen, and John Pendlebury. 2015. “1933 Building, Shanghai: A Machine for Killing, a Machine for Consumption.” International Conference – Heritage of Death: Landscapes, Sentiment and Practice, Stockholm, 10–11 September 2015.

  • Wang, Yi-Wen, and John Pendlebury. 2016. “The Modern Abattoir as a Machine for Killing: The Municipal Abattoir of the Shanghai International Settlement, 1933.” Architectural Research Quarterly 20 (2): 131–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, Fulong. 2000. “The Global and Local Dimensions of Place-Making: Remaking Shanghai as a World City.” Urban Studies 37 (8): 1359–1377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Song, and Peng Chen. 2010. “Shanghai gongye jianzhu yichan baohu yu chuanyi yuanqu dazhan—jiyu hongkouqu de diaocha fenxi yiqi sikao.” [Conservation of Shanghai Industrial Building Heritage and Development of Creative Industry Park: Based on Investigation, Analysis and Consideration on Hongkou District] Architectural Journal 2010 (12): 12–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Song. 2007. “Conservation and Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Heritage in Shanghai.” Frontiers of Architecture and Civil Engineering in China 1 (4): 481–490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, Chongxin. 2007. “Mo chulai de shuini shijie: 1933 laochangfang sheji zhaji.” [The World of Cement by Grinding Out] Architecture and Culture 42 (08): 33–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, Jane. 2010. “The ‘Entrepreneurial State’ in ‘Creative Industry Cluster’ Development.” Journal of Urban Affairs 32 (2): 143–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, Jane. 2011. “‘Creative Industry Clusters’ and the ‘Entrepreneurial City’ of Shanghai.” Urban Studies 48 (16): 3561–3582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhong, Sheng. 2009. “From Fabrics to Fine Arts: Urban Restructuring and the Formation of an Art District in Shanghai.” Critical Planning (16): 118–137.

  • Zhong, Sheng. 2010. “Industrial Restructuring and the Formation of Creative Industry Clusters: The Case of Shanghai’s Inner City.” PhD diss., University of British Columbia.

  • Zhu, Huang. 2013. “Lishi jiu jianzhu gaizao guihua sheji yanjiu—yi Shanghai Waimalu laomatou guihua gaizao xiangmu sheji weili.” [Study on Planning and Design of Historic Buildings Regeneration—a Case of the Cool Docks] Construction and Equipment 2013 (1).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urban Planning and Design, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China

    Yi-Wen Wang

  2. Urban Space Planning and Architectural Design Co., LTD (Shenzhen) Shanghai Branch, Shanghai, China

    Xiangyi Wang

Authors
  1. Yi-Wen Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiangyi Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yi-Wen Wang.

Rights and permissions

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, YW., Wang, X. Industrial Heritage Valorisation and Creative Industry Proliferation in Shanghai’s Urban Regeneration. Built Heritage 2, 76–92 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03545695

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03545695

Keywords