On March 5, 2024, the draft of the "Special Plan for the Greater Wusong Area" jointly prepared by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Planning and Resources, the Baoshan District Government and the Pudong New Area Government was announced. The planning area covers Baoshan, Pudong, Jing'an and Yangpu, covering an area of about 110 square kilometers. The plan focuses on creating the iconic image of "the intersection of three rivers and the gate of Shanghai" in the north of the city and the overall intention of the region of "blue and green interweaving, fresh and bright, urban and water integration, low-carbon and wise", and forms an overall layout of "one core, three belts and five clusters, green, open, resilient and integrated".
Location map of Dawusong area, source: "Special Planning for Dawusong Area" (draft public draft)
Since modern times, the Wusong area has been a hot spot for innovation and entrepreneurship. From the completion of China's first operating railway, the Wusong Railway, in the late Qing Dynasty, to the opening of two commercial ports in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the "gene" of Wusong area's openness and enterprising can be seen. Today, although it has gone through a hundred years, the historical traces of innovation and entrepreneurship in the past are still clearly visible in Wusong, among which, the "Peninsula 1919 Cultural and Creative Industry Park" (referred to as "Peninsula 1919"), which witnessed the past of Wusong's "century-old industry", can be called a typical one.
Peninsula 1919, west of North Sitang, south of Fuzaobang, the confluence of the two rivers is peninsula-shaped, and because the earliest modern industry here is the Great China Yarn Factory founded in 1919, so it is named "Peninsula 1919".
Old images of the Great China Yarn Factory, source: Baoshan Textile Industry Civilization Exhibition Hall
The Great China Yarn Factory was founded by Nie Qijie and Nie Qikun brothers, with a share capital of 1 million taels of silver, covering an area of about 150 acres, with 45,000 spindles, and the scale and equipment were first-class at that time, and it was known as the "model yarn factory". In addition to founding the Greater China Yarn Factory, in 1920, Nie Qijie also participated in the preparation of the Huafeng Yarn Factory, which was also located here. These two factories were the predecessors of the Shanghai No. 8 Cotton Textile Factory.
Old images of Yong'an No. 2 and No. 4 Factories, source: "Manuscript of Modern Shanghai Architectural History"
Despite the advanced equipment, due to the collapse of cotton yarn prices at the beginning of production, the Greater China yarn mill soon fell into a tight capital chain. In 1925, it was acquired by Yongan Yarn Factory (i.e., Yongan Textile Printing and Dyeing Company, the only textile enterprise founded by overseas Chinese capital in modern China) under the Yongan Group of the Guo family, and was renamed Yongan No. 2 Factory. After that, the factory entered a stage of rapid development, and by 1927, the number of employees had increased from more than 1,000 in 1922 to nearly 7,000, and the output of products increased. Around 1930, Yongan Group built a new factory building on the vacant land on the west side of Yongan No. 2 Factory to prepare for the construction of Yongan No. 4 Factory. At this time, "Yong'an" has become the second national cotton textile enterprise in China after Rongshi Group.
The former site of the main plant of Yongan No. 2 Factory was built in 1929
The former site of the main factory building of Yongan No. 2 Factory, the roof decoration has the characteristics of Baroque architectural art style
Unfortunately, the clouds of war interrupted the vigorous development of the modern textile industry in the Wusong area. During the "January 28 Incident" in 1932, the Wusong area was bombed by the Japanese army, and the Yongan Yarn Factory was not spared, and the second factory and the fourth factory under construction suffered heavy losses. After the armistice, although the factory was restored, it was destroyed again during the Battle of Songhu in 1937. After the fall of Shanghai, Yong'an No. 2 and No. 4 factories ceased production, and were later forced to be merged by the Japanese Yufeng Yarn Factory.
The former site of the administrative building of Yongan No. 2 Factory, built in 1924, is a four-story brick and wood structure, with the characteristics of Art Deco style, with a sloping roof and a tower as its symbol
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Yongan No. 2 and No. 4 factories were reborn. Guo Dihuo, who was the head of Yongan Textile Printing and Dyeing Company at the time, resolutely decided to ship the equipment and raw materials worth 2.5 million US dollars, including 7,000 watt steam turbine generators and 6,000 bales of American cotton, which were ordered abroad to Shanghai to help the company resume production as soon as possible and contribute to stabilizing the market situation.
In September 1955, Yongan No. 2 and No. 4 factories were public-private partnerships, and the factory name was Yongan No. 2 Factory. In October 1958, after the merger of Yongan No. 2 Factory and Guomian No. 8 Factory (evolved from Huafeng Yarn Factory), Shanghai No. 8 Cotton Textile Factory (hereinafter referred to as "Shangmian No. 8 Factory") was established.
The former site of Yongan No. 2 and No. 4 power generation stations was built in 1933, with 2 floors on the east side and 4 floors on the west side
Before the establishment of Baosteel, Shangmian No. 8 Factory was the largest state-owned unit in Wusong. By 1988, it had 160,000 spindles, more than 50,000 thread spindles, more than 1,700 cloth machines, spinning workshops and two weaving workshops, with an annual output of 23,000 tons of cotton yarn, more than 50 million meters of cotton cloth, and nearly 10,000 employees. The factory is characterized by "pure cotton high-count fabrics", and its products once accounted for about 30% of the total output of the market segment.
Some product trademarks of Shangmian No. 8 Factory
Since the early nineties of the last century, in order to adapt to the transformation of urban functions, Shanghai's state-owned textile enterprises have entered a large-scale adjustment and strategic transformation for more than 20 years. Shanghai's textile industry is gradually transitioning in the throes of great pain. After entering the 21st century, with the official completion of the closure of the first batch of textile factories, the Shanghai textile industry began to explore the practice of renewing and reusing factories.
In 2008, the renovation of Shangmian No. 8 Factory was completed, and the new "Peninsula 1919 Cultural and Creative Industry Park" was born in Wusong. After the renewal of Peninsula 1919, it retains many elements of the cotton textile industry, including large factories, office buildings, conveyor tracks, and small spindles. While building a new platform for innovation and entrepreneurship, it also continues to record and show the history of the development of China's national textile industry in the past century, and has become an excellent place for people to recall the past of Wusong's "century-old industry" and look forward to the bright future of Wusong.
Overlooking the Peninsula 1919, source: Baoshan, Shanghai
On April 4, 2014, the site of Great China Yarn Factory and Huafeng Yarn Factory was announced by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government as a cultural relics protection unit in Shanghai.
(Source: Shanghai Urban Construction Archives, Author: Cao Wei)