The golden snake meanders to bid farewell to the old year, forging ahead to embark on a new journey. To fully leverage the exemplary and leading role of advanced models, a special column titled "New Models at the Grassroots Level" has been launched. This column aims to duly organize, summarize, publicize, and promote the practical achievements and vivid experiences of grassroots youth League organizations' work, vividly showcasing the youthful spirit of the vast number of League members across Yangpu.

Let's open the first issue and take a look at the innovative practices of the Youth League Committee of Wujiaochang Sub-district.

I Work Background

Wujiaochang Sub-district is one of the pilot sub-districts for youth development in Shanghai. The sub-district has a young population of 41,200, accounting for 34.56% of the total registered population. It is home to renowned universities such as Fudan University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE), exuding a vibrant youthful atmosphere. At its core is the "Daxue Road" area, which is surrounded by a concentration of educational resources, a strong entrepreneurial and innovative atmosphere, rich cultural, commercial, sports, and tourism activities, and fertile soil for community governance. This environment provides a broad platform for the growth and development of young people. To further unleash the potential, vitality, and capabilities of the youth, the Youth League Committee of Wujiaochang Sub-district has conducted field visits and surveys to Fudan University, SUFE, Shanghai Penta Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, and KIC, among others. These efforts aim to gain a deep understanding of the thoughts and expectations of the youth and actively create a "24-hour youth innovation ecosystem", achieving a "two-way embrace" between the youth and the city.

II Main Practices

Innovation in activities: "High-quality" cultural and tourism resources drive youth interaction and innovation

In culture, the core area is home to a cluster of distinctive bookstores. For example, Yue Yue Bookstore, Old Fudan Bookstore, and Mystery Books (the "only detective fiction bookstore in China") offer young people more diverse reading experiences. "People's Lecture Hall" has organized over 100 cultural activities, including lectures on Shanghai culture, intangible cultural heritage, and cultural walks. Yangpu Library has created a universal reading brand called "Young Study Room", with four sub-series: "Huixian Pavilion", "Guanshu Corridor", "Xuesi Study", and "Yuewen Hall". These series cover four major types of branded activities: lectures, exhibitions, training, and reading promotion, continuously meeting the young people's demand for diverse cultural experiences. In sports, Jiangwan Stadium's fitness track is open to the public for free. A sports IP called YEAHH PARK has been launched, collaborating with numerous urban sports co-creation partners to promote urban sports such as pickleball, cycling, flag football, yoga, skateboarding, and frisbee. Together, they are building a hub for urban sports culture. In commerce, Daxue Road has been designated as one of "Shanghai's first distinctive demonstration areas for all-for-one tourism". The Wujiaochang-Daxue Road area has been selected as one of "Shanghai's first landmark areas for night life." More than 51% of consumers in Wujiaochang are under 30 years old. The area has been chosen as one of the "first national agglomeration areas for nighttime cultural and tourism consumption" and one of "Shanghai's first distinctive entrepreneurial communities". It has become the "pulsating heart" of Shanghai's emerging cultural and tourism consumption.

Innovation in lifestyle: "High-flexibility" life products abound

In public services, Guoding Branch Road's "People's Living Room" integrates multiple functions, including a Party-mass service station, community lounge, and People's Book Club. It has become a "recharging station" for young people's innovation and entrepreneurship. Guoding Road's "Baby House" provides partitioned activities for young children, effectively alleviating the child-rearing difficulties of young parents. The Weikang Road Neighborhood Center serves the entire population of surrounding communities, campuses, business districts, and parks, offering services such as blood pressure and blood glucose measurement, legal consultation, and white-collar lunch. In green spaces and transportation, Metro Line 10 runs through the core area, and Metro Line 18 traverses the expanded area. Knowledge & Innovation Community Garden and Digital Park provide excellent public spaces. In housing and livability, Knowledge & Innovation Community Garden continuously meets the needs of young people for healthy living, parenting services, and skill enhancement. Yangpu "Lohas Youth Card" offers four major service packages: "Happy Learning, Happy Work & Innovation, Happy Living, Happy Travel", covering all aspects of daily life.

Innovation in services: "Strong linkage" in governance yields fruitful resources

"Neighborly doors" have been built to address the pains of interaction and resource sharing among residents in the same neighborhood, extending the concept of neighborly governance to the Daxue Road area. The "Daxue Road Self-Management Committee" has been established to encourage young people to progress from "self-management", "self-discipline", and "self-growth" to "participation in governance", "contribution", and "leadership". The "Youth Self-Governance Hall" brand has been created to as a grand stage for young people in Wujiaochang to contribute ideas for urban construction and governance.

III Future Plan

Deepening two collaborations: Youthful ambition in full swing

In university-local collaboration, Wujiaochang will leverage the rich resources of top-tier universities such as Fudan University and SUFE to explore the establishment of youth "Great Ideological and Political" classes, "Great Skills" classes, and "Great Practice" classes. These initiatives aim to help young people better integrate into society, enhance their social practice abilities, and boost their employability and competitiveness in the job market. In innovation park platform integration, the sub-district will strengthen cooperation and exchanges with national university science parks like Fudan University Science Park and Shanghai University of Finance & Economics Science Park, enhancing multi-dimensional linkages with KIC and GKIC. Focusing on niche industries such as internet life, e-commerce, and online entertainment, the sub-district will collaborate with leading online new economy enterprises and rely on the "8+2+X" entrepreneurial service platform of the WJC Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition to build a Wujiaochang innovation ecosystem to promote platform integration, resource sharing, and strength complementation.

Creating three circles: Youthful vitality in full bloom

In creating a reading ecosystem to revitalize cultural vitality through reading, Wujiaochang will leverage cultural resources such as Yangpu Library, Yue Yue Bookstore, and Old Fudan Bookstore, and collaborate with lecture platforms like "People's Lecture Hall" and "People's Living Room", to regularly organize themed lectures, cultural exhibitions, and book-sharing sessions to create a vibrant reading ecosystem for young people, allowing their youthfulness to flourish in the fragrance of books. In creating a sports and fitness circle to boost health and vitality through sports, Wujiaochang will collaborate with universities like Shanghai University of Sport and renowned enterprises such as Dffit to invite sports experts and fitness coaches to share fitness knowledge and skills, helping young people improve their physical health. Relying on the Jiangwan Sports Center and in coordination with the "YEAHH PARK" community sports brand, the sub-district will focus on promoting six major urban sports categories - pickleball, cycling, flag football, yoga, skateboarding, and frisbe, as well as traditional sports like running and basketball, creating a sports and fitness circle for young people to enjoy the joy of movement. In creating a fashion and leisure circle to spark commercial vitality through fashion and leisure, Wujiaochang will utilize high-end commercial carriers such as Daxue Road Pedestrian Street, Hopson One, and Pacific Fresh City, exploring partnerships with the "8+2+X" entrepreneurial service platform (8 science parks, 2 startup bases, and X incubators), fashion brands, and commercial stores. The sub-district will introduce more leisure activities favored by young people, characterized by new culture, high technology, and positive energy, thereby achieving resource sharing and win-win.

Exploring multi-dimensional integration: The best life for youth in peace

In promoting interdependent community integration, Wujiaochang will embed child-care services and youth activities into community planning to optimize functional layouts, accelerating the development of a "15-minute community life circle" that connects key points into lines and expands these lines into comprehensive areas with multifunctional integration. This initiative aims to foster interdependence and mutual support among young people and the broader community. The sub-district will enrich the concept of jointly contribution, co-governance, and shared benefits within the "Daxue Road Self-Management Committee", strengthening the promotion and dissemination of the "three-pronged approach" (referring to the integration of community, governance, and youth development). In promoting flexible and diverse functional integration, Wujiaochang will encourage the opening up of community peripheral spaces and ancillary green spaces of public buildings to provide more public spaces for youth innovation. The sub-district will leverage the construction of Fudan University's humanities community and existing resources to create a "Youth Center", establishing youth co-creation spaces and social innovation resource platforms to build a model "Youth Innovation Unit". In promoting cross-boundary interaction through integrated activities, Wujiaochang will combine youth innovation activities, cultural and artistic events, and social and marital activities to create a relaxed and enjoyable environment for social interaction among young people. This approach aims to promote the comprehensive development of young talents.

Several support measures: A warm and carefree youth experience

In strengthening organizational leadership, Wujiaochang will ensure that the Party's leadership is fully integrated into the entire process of building a youth-oriented community, enhancing mechanisms for information communication, deliberation, special consultation, and follow-up supervision. The sub-district will explore the establishment of a "Youth Innovation Unit" youth League alliance to strengthen cooperation and exchange with district-level departments in areas such as education, employment, entrepreneurship, culture, and sports, jointly building platforms for youth development and continuously improve the service environment for young people, empowering their growth. In enhancing support and assurance, Wujiaochang will develop a "Youth Innovation Unit" micro-map and micro-videos to help young people better understand the unit and promptly access basic living support. The sub-district will launch a dedicated column for "Youth Innovation Unit" work to duly share and promote information related to life and social interaction from Fudan University, SUFE, Shanghai Penta Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, and KIC. In strengthening summary and promotion, in collaboration with think tanks from Fudan University and SUFE, Wujiaochang will produce in-depth, high-quality, and targeted research outcomes to explore the concept of youth-oriented city development. The sub-district will utilize new media platforms such as WeChat official accounts and Weibo to showcase the practical explorations of Wujiaochang as a pilot area for youth-oriented city development, continuously reporting on the achievements of the Youth Innovation Unit construction to constantly enhance visibility and publicity.