By Ding Yimin
Picture by Xu Jiechen

The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, dubbed as the‘window of Shanghai’and the‘Reception Room of Shanghai’, has received a total of about 2.2 million visitors from home and abroad since it first opened to the public. When the planning exhibition center opened four year ago, it only displayed the planning data for the year of 1997. The center has started updating its exhibits since last year in consideration of the different needs of citizens to know the latest adjustment in the overall planning policy of the city and on back of the development of exhibition technologies. The updating and adjustment move, lasting for over six months, is the largest renovation and upgrading initiative since it opened to the public.

Magic trip to Shanghai in 2010

The Virtual Sightseeing Tour Display Hall, located on the third floor of the center, is the first exhibition hall in China to introduce the latest presentation device of 360 degree cylindrical full screens. Walking along the cylindrical structures, visitors will be ushered into scenes of Shanghai in 2010, following the presentation on the 360 degree full screen panoramas, which feature quick switches of time and spaces. The virtual tour begins from the west of Shanghai, passing through the Villas in the west suburb, the Hongqiao Business District, the Yan’an Elevated Highway, People’s Square, the North-South Elevated Highway, the Bund, Sightseeing Tunnel for Pedestrians across the Huangpu River, the Century Avenue in Pudong, the Longyong Rd. Maglev Station, the Pudong International Airport and finally to the destination, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo site. The cartoon guides of the virtue tour provide detailed explanation for each site for visitors, leading them through scenes across Shanghai along the west-east axis, putting them into a completely magic world.

Miniature of the Yangshan Deepwater Port

Miniature exhibits of the Yangshan Deepwater Port, located on the fourth floor, are another attraction of the planning exhibition center after the renovation. Models of the Donghai Bridge and the Yangshan Deepwater Port, the number one project in shanghai this year, are two of the highlights of this exhibition area. Visitors are seen there queuing to take the‘virtual yacht’to visit the port. Following a group of simple codes, visitors will embark upon their tour immediately to experience the joy of sailing in the sea to enjoy scenes of the port area along the swings of the yacht. Besides traveling by sea, visitors can also choose traveling by car to drive at full speed on the Donghai Bridge, and the whole tour could be finished in just three minutes for seasoned drivers.

Exhibits of the Pudong International Airport

Entering the newly added Airport Exhibition Area, visitors will first see a straight tarmac, on which lights are glittering as if simulating the scenes for the take-off of aircrafts. Right in front of the visitors, an aircraft is flying towards them in preparation for touchdown, propelling them to dodge it subconsciously. The most impressive exhibit is the miniature model, at a scale of 1:500, showing the overall planning of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which provides a panorama view of the airport when the overall construction is finished. The No.2 terminal building will be put into use in 2008, and by the year of 2015, Shanghai will establish itself as an aviation hub. Another three terminal buildings will be established by 2020, increasing its transportation capacity to 100 million passengers. The urban transit system will be more convenient and faster at that time, and it will only take seven minutes and 10 seconds to arrive at the downtown areas from the Pudong International Airport.

Photos:

1. Models showing major areas and buildings of Shanghai

2. 360 degree full screen presentation hall.

3. Cylindrical Corridor outside of the virtual presentation hall.

4. Exhibition area of the deepwater port

5. Exhibition area of the Pudong International Airport

6. A large TV screen at the‘Window-of-the-World’Exhibition Area

7. Groups of TV screens at the‘Window-of-the-World’Exhibition Area