What is the new look of Neighborhood228 as it celebrates the first anniversary of its transformation? This 20,000-household workers' community has not only been transformed into a trendy place in a "15-minute community life circle", but also saw the emergence of Shanghai Workers' Community Exhibition Hall - Shanghai's first comprehensive cultural exhibition hall that presents a full picture of the development history of workers' communities across the city. From a 20,000-household old and small community into a futuristic town with new buildings, under the guidance of urban renewal, Neighborhood 228 has brought surprises all time.

 

On April 29, the Shanghai Workers' Community Culture Festival kicked off 228 Neighborhoods at Neighborhood 228. During the festival, "New Practice of the People's City" Outdoor Photography Exhibition, a drama performance by Tongji University and other "cultural feasts", as well as recreational and leisure activities such as lawn concert, open-air film screening and old brand bazaar will make Neighborhood 228 more brilliant and allow residents to enjoy a fulfilling May Day holiday.

 

At 8:30 a.m., the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Workers' New Community Culture Festival opened on the lawn of Neighborhood 228. On the big screen, Huang Baomei, a recipient of the "July 1 Medal" and a representative of textile workers in New China, together with the representatives of residents in Changbai Xincun Sub-district, celebrated Labor Day and saluted the strivers. A number of national and municipal model workers took the salute on the stage.

 

The land of Neighborhood 228 carries their glory and dreams, and retains their nostalgia. "In particular, we're so touched by the model worker square in Neighborhood 228, which is intended to pass on the spirit of craftsmen and the spirit of model workers," said Qiu Renjun, a Shanghai model worker and former Secretary of the General Party Branch of Antu Residential Area, Changbai Xincun Sub-district. Though he is retired, we will still engage in public services in the community to carry forward the spirit of model workers. "Though I'm retired, I'll devote myself to the cultivation of new community officials."

 

"New Practice of the People's City" Outdoor Photography Exhibition, on one side of the lawn, is a magnificent prelude to the Shanghai Workers' New Community Culture Festival. The exhibition features 99 out of 1,075 photos collected from around China, to create an "image poem" of Shanghai's urban renewal under the themes of "urban change", "new urban look" and "urban life".

 

Among these entries were Chess Battle, Community Dance Team and Enjoy the Cool that reflect the people's enjoyable life in Neighborhood 228 after its transformation, and the grand narrative work - New Look that shows the drastic transformation of Shanghai No. 17 Cotton Mill into Shanghai Fashion Center.

 

During a selection from a ton of photos collected, Tian Linjun, a head of Changbai Xincun Sub-district, found many photos with stories. "Look at this one, his father was born in the workers' community, and he took his child back there. In the nostalgic photo studio on the second floor of Building 1 of Shanghai Workers' Community Exhibition Hall, his child took this photo of his parents and grandparents."

 

From a set of photos that shows comparison between the present and the past, you can see that the public space was very small in the past, but today Neighborhood 228 has a large lawn for children to play and for the elderly to chat and enjoy the scenery. Tian pointed at a photo with emotion, "Our kitchen was old, small and broken, and kitchenware was outdated, now our government-subsidized community canteen can serve elderly people with hot and delicious meals nearby every noon, and prices are affordable."

 

Elderly visitors considered the exhibition very meaningful: "Now we are leading a happy life. The exhibition's practice of preserving the past so that young people now can see the real life back then and compare the past with the present is pretty good."

 

Readable buildings, walkable neighborhoods and warm cities are vividly frozen through the lens of the people, and behind each photo are long city memories and deep confessions to the people's city.

 

Next to the photo exhibition, 20 young students from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology took over a flag from the old generation before a march towards the industrial relics of Yangpu. They started from Neighborhood 228 and walked in a shape of "I", sustaining the spirit of the workers' community in the city walk, and opening a new page for the innovative development of Yangpu on a new journey.