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Pudong’s historic Minsheng Port to find new life as cultural hot spot
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Victorian-style red-brick warehouses and two giant grain silos on the Huangpu River are projected to house an art gallery, theater, cinema, artists’ studios and a boutique hotel. Qu Zhi delves into the story.
Plans call for the large, historic Minsheng Port at the Huangpu River in the Pudong New Area to be transformed into a new cultural hot spot, catering to many interests, including art, music, live performances and dining.
During the reign of the Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), British shipping company Blue Funnel Line purchased the predecessor of Minsheng Port, and in the 1920s, many called the port the most advanced in the Far East. Almost all of the remaining historic buildings in the complex are warehouses built by the British from 1907 to 1925.
Two giant concrete grain silo complexes more than 50 meters tall first come into view at the port. One of them is the largest grain silo structure in Asia, capable of storing 80,000 tons. It once stored grain for much of Shanghai, and it’s double the size of the other one.
The complex, covering an area of 100,000 square meters, is rugged but has a cast of industrial chic, softened a little by time. Instead of new buildings, plans call for green areas and piazzas in vacant areas among the old structures.
“We have been pondering over this project for many years, since 2005, when the grain silos were closed down,” says Li Baoqi, general manager of Huangpu River Group Minsheng Branch.
According to Li, the historic, red-brick Victorian structures did not meet the fate of a lot of old buildings in Shanghai, which were demolished and replaced by new ones many years ago, because no one had found just the right new use for the old port.
“In the future, it will be a place for both leisure/entertainment and creative cultural industries that focus on the semi-high-end market,” Li says.
Officials are looking to increase the area’s credibility and also help the arts community by offering talented artists, both new and more established, free space for their studios in the complex.
“Pudong government is paying a lot of attention to this project and will be a great help with policies and financially as the project progresses. Also the government could help us attract more artists,” Li says.
Plans call for the warehouses to include cafés for patrons to enjoy after a visit to an art gallery, as well as cinemas and theaters within the complex. The art gallery is expected to stage exhibitions on such topics as design, fashion and pop culture, as well as specially commissioned works.
The plan for the largest of the sturdy grain silo buildings also tentatively includes a boutique hotel. There is no decision yet on how the smaller silo complex will be used.
According to Li, there are more than 50 multi-purpose complexes like this in Shanghai, so careful planning is needed to give it a chance to reach its potential and not become just a passing fancy.
“Among the flock of complexes, success is numbered. You don’t want it to be either too commercial or belittled by the public,” he says.
The planned complex has two big advantages — location and historical character. Along the Huangpu River at the back of the complex, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the skyscrapers in Lujiazui area.
“The port in Shanghai at the bank of the Huangpu River is not only an epitome of modernization and urbanization in the city but also an indispensable part of local people’s collective memory,” says Lu Shaoming, associate professor of architecture at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Lu, who has done in-depth research on the port, cites it as a good example of hai pai (Shanghai-style) culture, which is the mixture of Chinese and Western culture in Shanghai.
Landscape and infrastructure
The complex is about 2.5 times the size of most of Shanghai’s art and leisure complexes, which usually are about 40,000 square meters, Li says.
Construction has started on the complex’s roads, which will be followed by landscape, infrastructure and renovation and transformation of the old architecture.
“For now the total investment of this project is estimated at 1 billion yuan (US$163 million), and except for the transformation of the grain silo, it will be opened in the second half of 2014,” Li says.
Repairing and transforming old architecture can be more difficult than putting up new construction. “You see the red bricks of these warehouses — after a hundred years, they remain intact. On the rainy days, the sound parts won’t have even a tiny leak,” Li says.
Some of the red bricks, however, were broken over the years, which has led to a search for how to repair them. “Nearly none of the techniques to make this kind of brick survives,” he says.
The two grain silos are for many the most intriguing buildings at the port. They also are the biggest challenges for the developers.
The silos are similar in structure: two stories, with the bottom story 10.8 meters high in the bigger silo complex and a few meters shorter in the smaller one. The first floors have many concrete pillars and giant funnels to release the grain. The second floor of the bigger complex is about 45 meters high and vacant inside.
“First of all, we have to consider how to install floors in the second-story area, and that is a very tough task. If we do it right, it will add an extra floor area of 40,000 square meters to the complex,” Li says.
They also haven’t figured out how to deal with the pillars and funnels at the bottom. One suggestion was to use the funnels as part of guest rooms, but that was determined to be impractical.
Officials say they are not in a rush to solve the silo puzzle, and nothing will be done without a complete plan and thorough preparation. Since such places are rare, and planners don’t want to overlook any opportunities, Li says.
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