THE development of Lujiazui Financial City in the next few years will focus on six areas which include the central business district, the riverside tourism and leisure industrial belt and areas along Century and Pudong avenues.

Lujiazui, at the forefront of Pudong’s reform and opening-up, has seen great changes since 1990.

It has been transformed from impoverished, swampy farmland to a prosperous modern urban area packed with skyscrapers and headquarters of multinationals.

During the 13th Five-Year-Plan period (2016-2020), Lujiazui Financial City will turn itself into a world-leading financial center, a central activities district and a pilot zone of financial and trade innovation by taking the advantage of the accelerated pace of the yuan’s internationalization.

It will also play a key role supporting the reform, opening-up and institutional innovation of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Lujiazui will also become the strategic fulcrum for Shanghai to rise as a global city.

After more than two decades of development, Lujiazui Financial City has nearly 800 financial institutions and more than 10 bourses at a state level. It has become the cluster of world-leading asset management firms’ China businesses.

By the end of last year, more than 30 well-known asset management companies from major countries such as the US, Britain, France and Japan had set up branches in Lujiazui Financial City.

Among the 15 Shanghai-based banks and funds granted to Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor status in the first three rounds of approvals, 12 are based in the Lujiazui Financial City.

Among the world Top 10 asset management companies, BlackRock, Fidelity International, Vanguard, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Allianz have set up their investment subsidiaries at Lujiazui.

Fidelity Investment (Shanghai) Ltd, officially founded in January, became the first wholly foreign-owned private equity fund to operate in China’s A-share market, according to the Asset Management Association of China.

The new company is authorised to sell investment products to eligible institutions and high-net-value individuals approved by the AMAC.

Meanwhile, Lujiazui Financial City will strengthen its capability to gather and integrate essential factors by supporting the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the China Financial Futures Exchange in establishing international financial asset trading centers and platforms.

The financial city will also push forward the operation of the Shanghai International Energy Trading Center into a substantive stage, prepare to establish the China Gems and Jewelry Trade Center, support the development of the Shanghai Insurance Exchange and create a regional reinsurance trading and pricing center.

To seize the favorable opportunity, Lujiazui Financial City will also promote various types of markets to carry out yuan-denominated trading and clearing activities, compete for the pricing of global resource products on behalf of China to form a “Lujiazui Price” and a “Lujiazui Standard” with global influence.

Strategic fulcrum of globalization

Lujiazui will also rely on the “headquarters economy” and cross-border investment and financing activities to integrate into the global urban network system, enhance its ability to allocate resources globally and turn itself into the economic center of China or even the Asia Pacific.

Relying on big data technology to enhance information generation, processing, mining and publishing capabilities, Lujiazui Financial City will release all kinds of “Lujiazui indexes” to lead the world with a “Lujiazui Voice,” to improve international relations, communication and influence to become an international information hub.

Lujiazui Financial City also aims to become a fashion and cultural capital. The construction of the Pudong Art Museum, the Shanghai Museum East Pavilion and the Shanghai Library East Hall are among major tasks during the 13th Five-Year-Plan.

High-level cultural facilities will better serve the needs of local office workers.

Small museums, art galleries, master studios and literary cafes will rise on the east bank of Huangpu River to create several distinctive “Lujiazui art blocks.”

Moreover, fashion shows, music festivals and culture bazaars will create a cultural city on the east bank to rival New York’s Broadway, London’s West End, and La Rive Gauche in Paris.

The next step will be to combine culture and capital markets, creating a cultural industry and value chain integrated with content production, mediation, investment and financing to form a super cluster of cultural and creative industries along the Huangpu River.

In the aspect of entrepreneurship and venture capital, the Lujiazui administration authority will lead angel investors and venture capitalists to integrate with various business incubators to promote the development of a number of Internet banking, cultural and creative, cross-border e-commerce and other start-ups.

Local authorities will further optimize a business-friendly, livable environment with convenient transport access and rich entertainment resources to create a closed loop ecosystem and a multifunctional metropolitan area.

The “Small Lujiazui,” the central business zone in Lujiazui Financial City that covers roughly 1.7 square kilometers will also act as a center for business travel and leisure activities.

It includes riverside space, central green space, Fucheng Road, Aurora Museum, Oriental Pearl Square, Super Brand Mall, IFC Mall, Shanghai Tower, Jinmao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center.

After years of construction and renovation, the riverbank in Pudong has shrugged off the past look of being crowded with old factories, warehouses and wharfs.

Now, green zones, parks, waterside pavilions, landmark buildings and public space along the bank have greatly improved the environment and city landscape.

The riverside tourism and leisure industrial belt is divided into northern and southern zones.

Cluster of cultural and recreation venues

The northern part features the Pudong Culture Pavilion, Dongchang Cinema, the Shanghai Shipyard area and the Minsheng Wharf complex.

It will mainly cater to cultural and musical performances.

A variety of festivals have been held here, such as the World Dance Championship, the Riverside International Beer Festival and Pudong Culture and Art Festival. The Lujiazui Financial Cultural Festival has been successfully held for many years.

As a new cultural landmark at Lujiazui, the Shanghai Lujiazui Harbor City Exhibition Center, site of the former Shanghai Shipyard, has had its major construction completed.

It is expected to host influential international exhibitions when open to the public.

The southern part includes Dongchang Riverside Green Space, Jolly House, Lao baidu Riverside Green Space and the sculpture park — an ideal place for leisure activities.

In line with the blueprint, areas around the Pudong Avenue will serve as a shipping service industrial development zone which includes Shanghai Maritime Academy, Marine Tower and International Ocean Shipping & Finance Center.

The Century Avenue will become an industrial belt for commercial and creative industries while a riverside innovation community will be created along the Zhangjiabang area.

The Yangjingbang area will join the northern part of the riverside tourism and leisure industrial belt to be a performance and arts waterfront community.

It will feature the Yangjing Culture Square and the Yangjing Culture Exhibition Museum.