Editor’s note:
The 18th of this month is the 30th anniversary of the development and opening up of Pudong. At the age of thirty, Pudong has changed from farmland to high-rise buildings, becoming a symbol of China's reform and opening up. The Party History Research Office of the Municipal Party Committee interviewed the decision-makers, participants, and executors of Pudong's development and opening up, and launched "Miracle: Eyewitnesses of Pudong's Early Development." Shangguan News has published relevant oral articles, recalling the thorny road ahead and providing a new perspective for the development and opening up of Pudong from a historical perspective.
[Preface to Oral Narration]
Wu Chenglin was born in September 1940. He once served as deputy director of Shanghai Meilin Canned Food Factory, deputy director and director of Shanghai Light Industry Bureau, vice president of Qunxing Group of the Ministry of Light Industry, general manager of Qunxing Industrial Company, secretary and general manager of the Party Committee of Zhangjiang High-tech Park, member of the Party Working Committee of Pudong New Area, Deputy Director of the Management Committee, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, Executive Deputy Director of the Municipal Foreign Investment Commission, etc. In May 1993, he was appointed as Party Secretary and General Manager of Zhangjiang High-tech Park Development Company. In June, he was concurrently appointed as a member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Pudong New Area, leading Zhangjiang Development Zone to transform from a piece of farmland into a high-tech park that has begun to take shape. , is the pioneer and leader of Zhangjiang High-tech Park. After September 1995, he served as deputy secretary of the Shanghai Foreign Economic and Trade Party Committee, deputy director of the Municipal Economic and Trade Committee, and executive deputy director of the Municipal Foreign Investment Committee. He is the Chairman of Shanghai Branch of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Chairman of Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industry Association.
Oral: Wu Chenglin
Interviews: Xie Liping, Guo Ji, Zhou Yiyun, Huang Xiao
Compilation: Zhou Yiyun
Time: June 13, 2018
From 1992 to 1993, I served as the vice president of Qunxing Group and general manager of Qunxing Industrial Company of the Ministry of Light Industry in Beijing. In January 1993, I returned to Shanghai for a vacation and met Comrade Wu Bangguo, then Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. After hearing about my work in the Ministry of Light Industry, he immediately asked me to return to Shanghai to work in Zhangjiang, Pudong. I agreed without hesitation, 5 He resigned and returned to Shanghai in March. On May 7, the Pudong New Area Organization Department announced that I was appointed as the party committee secretary and second general manager of the company. One month later, on June 25, the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government appointed me as a member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Pudong New Area. From then on, my relationship with Zhang Jiang began.
Successfully broke through the difficult situation
Zhangjiang High-tech Park Development Company was established on July 28, 1992. When I learned that I was going to work in Zhangjiang, I went to Zhangjiang to see it in person. Unexpectedly, when I stood at the intersection of Longdong Avenue and Luoshan Road and looked up, except for a narrow two-lane Longdong Road, it was completely green farmland. Farmhouses with white walls and black tiles were scattered among the farmland. There is no trace of the development zone at all. In fact, the development zone has been under development for a year at this time. I know it's going to be a tough battle. Sure enough, as soon as I took office, the company's difficulties gave me a warning. No money, no land, not even office space.
First of all, there is a serious shortage of funds. The initial planning area of Zhangjiang was 17 square kilometers, and it was initially decided to develop 4 square kilometers. The 100 million yuan of start-up capital allocated by the city in advance was all used up due to the excessive scale of the initial development. The company has established more than 20 subsidiaries, causing funds to be scattered, and the wages of fifty or sixty people can hardly be paid. At this time, the "three connections and one leveling" of Longdong Avenue were in urgent need of capital investment.
Secondly, there is no place. In the early stages of development, Zhangjiang leased 2 square kilometers of land to four companies at very low prices, namely Xinyuan, Zhejiang Yintai, Northeast China's Brilliance and a Taiwanese company. Each company took away 0.5 square kilometers. The 4 square kilometers of land originally decided to develop were suddenly gone, and 2 square kilometers of land were gone. Among them, Xinyuan is a joint venture between CITIC and Canadian Energy Company. The treaty also agreed that they would retain an additional 0.5 square kilometers of land development rights, which means they will take away a total of 1 square kilometers.
Also, our office space is far from ideal. When I first arrived, the office was in a loft above the Tonghanchun Pharmaceutical Factory on Eshan Road in Lujiazui.Not only is it far away from the Zhangjiang site, making it inconvenient for command and management, but the conditions are crowded, the air is filled with the smell of traditional Chinese medicine, and cleaning tools are placed at the entrance of the stairs. If you want to negotiate with foreign businessmen in such a place, it will be very detrimental to the image of Zhangjiang. . What to do with
? There is no turning back once the bow is fired. We are determined to break the boat and vigorously adjust and reform the current development situation. Under difficult circumstances, we received strong support from the leaders of the Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, and Pudong New Area, as well as from various ministries and commissions in Shanghai, which helped us overcome the difficulties.
has no money, and the existing funds can only sustain the company's operations for two months at most. In desperation, I thought of an emergency solution and wrote to Municipal Party Committee Secretary Wu Bangguo and Mayor Huang Ju, expressing my hope to use the remaining 2 square kilometers of pre-development land to get a bank loan with a mortgage of 200 million yuan. At this time, the state focused on rectifying the financial order and controlling the scale of investment. The banks themselves had no quotas and borrowing was very tight. Unexpectedly, after receiving the letter, the two leaders immediately instructed President Mao Yingliang of the Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China to coordinate with the four major banks to implement the resolution of funds. After the presidents of the Pudong branches of the four major banks, ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China, came to Zhangjiang for inspection, they agreed that each bank would lend Zhangjiang 50 million, and Zhangjiang would mortgage 0.5 square kilometers of land for each bank. Soon, 200 million funds were in place, which was like a shot in the arm and saved Zhang Jiang. We immediately invested money in the development of Longdong Avenue and paid off the debt owed to the early development of Longdong Avenue.
But at this time, Longdong Avenue is just a bare road with no water or electricity. How to attract investment? Therefore, Deputy Director of the Public Utilities Bureau Rui Youren led the water construction team to investigate the site. Since Longdong Avenue had been built at that time, it was too late to take over the pipe. After research, it was decided to drill a well. It took the water company a month to build a well for us. There was no electricity. With the concern of Qian Zhongwei, director of the Electric Power Bureau, we built a 220 kV high-voltage power station on Luoshan Road in half a year. As for the telephone line, with the full support of Cheng Xiyuan, director of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau, a temporary communication station was built within half a year and the telephone line was introduced to Zhangjiang. There is water and electricity, but there are no buses and transportation is inconvenient. We imagined that since Zhangjiang is a high-tech park, there should be at least two bus lines to Fudan and Jiaotong University, the well-known universities in Shanghai. It happened that Vice Mayor Xia Keqiang came to Zhangjiang for on-site office work, and we reported this issue to him. He immediately instructed Deputy Director Hong Hao of the Public Utilities Bureau to help solve the problem of these two lines, which are now the Bridge Line 5 and the Bridge Line 6. At the end of 1993, a six-lane Longdong Avenue was built with complete underground pipelines. This was Zhangjiang's first transportation artery, providing favorable conditions for the park to take off. Later, when Metro Line 2 was built, the original terminal station only went to Longyang Road and did not pass through Zhangjiang. We once again asked Deputy Mayor Xia Keqiang for help. After Deputy Mayor Xia learned about the situation, after discussion with the municipal government, he agreed to extend Line 2 after it was completed. Three years later, the extension of Line 2 entered the Zhangjiang High-tech Park, and Zhangjiang now has a rail transit artery. From then on, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Metro Station was crowded with people every day. Looking around, young people were coming in and out. This is the future and hope of Zhangjiang. The introduction of "three connections and one leveling" and transportation lines has laid a good foundation for Zhangjiang's investment promotion. What should I do if
does not have land? We decided to take back the four pieces of land that were taken away by the four companies earlier based on the spirit of the municipal government's document that the land can be taken back if it does not move the land or invite investment after the land is obtained. Because until 1993, these four pieces of land were lying there quietly, without a single company coming in, and not a single shovel of soil being dug. The process of taking it back encountered unimaginable resistance and pressure, which even alarmed the central leadership. I first made this request to Xinyuan Company, and the Canadian side immediately complained to their Prime Minister. In September 1993, when the then Canadian Prime Minister Christian visited China, he proposed to discuss the Zhangjiang Xinyuan issue on the banquet agenda. Premier Zhu Rongji did not know about the Zhangjiang land incident, so he called Mayor Huang Ju to attend a banquet in Beijing and explain directly to the other party. Mayor Huang also didn’t understand that Zhangjiang had such a big matter that the two prime ministers needed to discuss it.The day before leaving for Beijing, that is, on the evening of September 26, 1993, Mayor Huang Ju called me to inquire about the situation. I reported to him the previous contract payment and current situation of Xinyuan, and proposed renegotiation. After the mayor learned about it, he flew to Beijing for the banquet. After
returned to Shanghai, Mayor Huang told me that we could renegotiate and the price could be adjusted. The details would be negotiated by the two companies, which was equivalent to putting the initiative in our hands. Soon, led by Huang Qifan, deputy director of the Pudong New Area Administrative Committee, I went to Canada to start a new round of negotiations with Xinyuan Company. I spent a whole afternoon negotiating land prices, options, and imported projects. I know that this is a political and economic issue involving the two countries, so I handle it very carefully. After final negotiation, the land price was increased from the original 12 US dollars per square meter to 23 US dollars, and the option of 0.5 square kilometers originally reserved as priority leasing was taken away. We will help attract investment for the existing 0.5 square kilometers to start construction as soon as possible. On November 10, 1994, Zhangjiang Xinyuan Company was officially listed. Canadian Prime Minister Christian attended the ceremony. The other three companies also obtained the land through different methods. Brilliance Company agreed to grant a piece of land to them when a project came in. Intime Company agreed to jointly develop it with us, and the Taiwanese company terminated the cooperation. In order to take back these 2 square kilometers of land, I offended many people, but the situation at that time was that we were determined to do it!
Faced with an unsatisfactory office space, I immediately decided to move after taking office! But the company employees told me that they had already looked for it, but there was no place. I later found a piece of land at the intersection of Longdong Road that had no demolition tasks, but it was under high-voltage lines. We have no other choice but to build a new office space within half a year, even if it is a quick-installation on-site office space. For the exterior of the building, President Wu Zhiguang of the Shanghai Municipal Design Institute was invited to personally design an airplane-like flying wing for Zhangjiang, which symbolizes the take-off of Zhangjiang. Later, Dean Wu won the Architectural Design Award for this design. Although this quick-installation building looks simple on the outside, the environment is clean and tidy and the connotation is very rich. The entrance lobby is designed with copper reliefs on the theme of five thousand years of Chinese civilization. There are also four conference rooms of different styles. There are the European style of Versailles in France, the beach scenery of California in the United States, the cherry blossom scenery of Japan and the courtyard of Suzhou, China, which reflect Zhang Jiang's world vision. After the
office building was completed, the employees in Zhangjiang were greatly encouraged. On the day we moved into the new location in January 1994, all our employees held a flag-raising ceremony. It was winter, with snowflakes flying in the sky, but our employees were excited and excited. Everyone took an oath under the national flag and determined to contribute their own strength to the development of the motherland's high-tech industry.
Among them, we encountered the problem of handling the relationship with the land-expropriated farmers during the relocation process. During the demolition of Tuanjie Village in Zhangjiang Township, because the compensation work was not done well, the demolition was carried out before the compensation for land acquisition was received, which caused strong dissatisfaction among farmers. One day I was surrounded by excited farmers at the meeting venue. I made a statement on the spot: the demolition should be stopped immediately, the compensation money should be paid immediately, and the siege was finally resolved. When I returned to the company, I immediately dismissed the employees responsible for the demolition. At the same time, I realized that this was a major issue related to the long-term stability of the park. I needed to make friends with local cadres and farmers and strengthen relations with towns and villages. In May 1994, at the suggestion of the Pudong New Area Organization Department and after deliberation and discussion, we explored a pilot project to establish a regional joint party committee with Zhangjiang Township, Huamu Township, and Beicai Town. I will be the secretary of the joint party committee, and the secretaries of Zhangjiang Township, Huamu Township, and Beicai Town, as well as the vice president of our company, will be members of the party committee. In this way, there will be a positive channel for dialogue between Zhangjiang Development Company and the local township party and government teams. On the day the joint party committee was established, new district leaders Zhao Qizheng and Hu Wei attended the meeting. From then on, we often held party committee meetings to discuss, coordinate and communicate on issues such as land acquisition, demolition and resettlement of farmers, and achieve consensus. Through the joint party committee, Zhangjiang Development Company and local towns established a conflict coordination mechanism, and received strong support and guarantee from local towns during the development and land acquisition process. When farmers with problems came to visit, their town mayors and secretaries helped our company work together and tried to persuade the farmers before we did. No mass incidents ever happened again.
At the same time, we also stand from the perspective of farmers, consider their life and work after losing their land, and strive to achieve common development. We set aside 2 square kilometers of land to build a science and technology industrial community for Zhangjiang Township. We spent more than 20,000 Australian dollars to hire Australian designers to help design and plan. Employees from the planning department helped attract investment and introduce enterprises to solve the development potential and economic sources of Zhangjiang Township. Gaining support from the Zhangjiang Township government and the masses, I also gained an unforgettable friendship. After the new buildings built around Xiangnan Road for relocated farmers were completed, we painted the relocated houses with beautiful colorful exterior walls to create a livable environment. Every year, as secretary of the United Party Committee, I visit farmers’ homes in 16 villages in 3 towns and villages. Thank them for their contribution to the development of the park, and understand on the spot what difficulties farmers have and what things they need help solving. We also recruit farmers whose land has been expropriated to work as waiters in the company. Although they belong to an outsourcing company, we treat them the same as our ordinary employees. We nod and say hello when we meet in the morning, and we take care of them when we pay benefits. They are treated equally. Later, Mayor Xu Kuangdi also recommended Zhangjiang Company’s practices when conducting research in other development zones.
Of course, we can find breakthroughs in difficulties and open up a new situation of development without the personal guidance and care of the leaders of the municipal party committee and government.
Mayor Huang Ju has been concerned about Zhangjiang for a long time. Only two months after I arrived in Zhangjiang, he came to inspect. The place we showed him was a muddy field, with the tower of a sewage well behind it, and there was nothing there. I showed him the plan while introducing it. There is also a small episode. I introduced to him that this was a mineral water factory. He immediately exposed me: "The mineral water plant is also high-tech?" I quickly explained that after drilling the well, we took some groundwater to make mineral water, which was temporary. However, it can be seen from this that he attaches great importance to industrial development. He told us that Zhangjiang should be developed gradually and not in a hurry, but that basic projects should be done well and investment promotion projects should be launched as early as possible. It is best to have an image within half a year to a year. It was Huang Ju's instructions that prompted us to adjust the scale of development, reducing the original plan to develop 4 square kilometers in advance to 0.4 square kilometers in advance, and concentrate limited resources on this 0.4 square kilometers to realize leasing as soon as possible and showcase the image of Zhangjiang.
In January 1994, Wu Bangguo, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, and Hu Lijiao, senior leader of the National People's Congress, accompanied by Vice Mayor Zhao Qizheng, came to Zhangjiang for inspection. Seeing that within half a year, brand new office buildings, tennis courts, swimming pools and canteens were all available, Municipal Party Committee Secretary Wu Bangguo happily inscribed "Pioneering and Forging ahead", which gave Zhangjiang people great encouragement and support.
Roche settled in Zhangjiang and became famous.
settled in Zhangjiang. The first customer was the Swiss Roche Pharmaceuticals, the world's third largest pharmaceutical company.
In September 1993, under the introduction of Huang Yanzheng, general manager of Sanwei Pharmaceutical Factory, Roche came to Zhangjiang for inspection. At that time, in that simple office on Ashan Road, we introduced Zhang Jiang to the foreign representative William Kailo. When he saw that you were working in a pharmaceutical factory, and when he arrived at the site, there was nothing but farmland. He immediately hesitated and said, "How can you ask me to build a factory like this?!" We made a promise to him , water, electricity, gas, and communications will be implemented immediately. At the same time, he introduced to him that the Yangpu Bridge has been completed, the inner ring road has also started construction, and the Pudong Airport has been listed on the construction schedule, and the transportation will be very convenient. The Tomson Golf Course opposite will be built soon. We want to use as much resources and information as possible to enhance the value of Zhangjiang.
General Manager Huang Yanzheng also encouraged him and said: "Don't worry when Mr. Wu from Zhangjiang speaks, he guarantees that your goals will be realized." The words of the partners made William feel a little relieved, and then Deputy Mayor Zhao Qizheng's recommendation was even more It adds weight to the success of negotiations. When Vice Mayor Zhao met with William Kailuo, he not only introduced Zhang Jiang, but also introduced me to him calmly: "Mr. Wu is my old friend. We often swim together and participate in swimming competitions in the city. He swims If he is faster than me, I always lose to him."The seemingly understatement made a very deep impression on the foreign representative, and added trust and confidence in Zhangjiang. He felt that Zhangjiang Company is a key development area in Shanghai, and finally made up his mind to put the project in Zhangjiang. , but there is one requirement, which is that the land for building the factory must be "three connections and one level" within six months. After several rounds of negotiations with foreign representatives, we finally settled on a land lease price of 60 US dollars per square meter. The price was reached, which was a particularly high price at the time. During the early development period, the land in Zhangjiang was leased for more than ten dollars. The land price of $60 set a new starting point for the subsequent land leasing in Zhangjiang. The representative also made a request: just fill in the letter of intent and not pay a penny. If the "three connections and one leveling" cannot be achieved within six months, the intention will be cancelled. If it succeeds, a formal contract will be signed and the money will be paid. During this six months, Vice President Mao Deming will pay. Under the leadership of Zhang Jiang, the employees of Zhangjiang really worked hard and fought against time to connect water, electricity and phone calls. Finally, they withstood the test and successfully completed the project within half a year.
In May 1994, William Kellow visited Zhangjiang again. He was very surprised by what he saw and immediately agreed to sign the contract. I am really grateful to our colleagues in Zhangjiang. It was their persistence that made us successful despite the difficult situation of being unable to pay our wages. The first foreign-funded enterprise was welcomed, and it was a well-known pharmaceutical company in the world's top 500. On the day of the signing of the contract on the 16th, Vice Mayor Zhao Qizheng appeared in person, signed the contract, and hosted a banquet, sparing no effort to promote the cooperation between Zhangjiang and Roche. It has a great impact on both parties. The introduction of Roche has set a benchmark for Zhangjiang’s future investment and opened up the history of Zhangjiang Medicine Valley. For Roche, it not only made the company a member of the Shanghai Mayor’s International Entrepreneur Advisory Council, but also made William a member of the Shanghai Mayor’s International Entrepreneur Advisory Council. Kailuo himself won the Shanghai Magnolia Award, and decided to settle in Shanghai. He obtained Shanghai Green Card No. 0002 and moved his family to Shanghai.
summarized the successful experience of cooperation with Roche. After discussion, we finally summarized it in four words. "Fairness, trust, pragmatism and excellence" were Zhangjiang's corporate philosophy at that time and were written into the "Employee Handbook of Zhangjiang High-tech Park Development Company".
"Fairness" means fairness, justice and openness, which are the characteristics of the development and opening up of Pudong New Area. The request was made during the development process of Zhangjiang. I took the lead. My salary is public and I have no other income. I have always believed that words must be spoken. Trust must be followed, and words must be kept. A very important reason for the successful introduction of Roche is that we can fulfill our promises to them on a piece of farmland. Only when we keep our words can others believe them.
"Practice" means that we must do it. Don't just talk about things, don't just shout slogans, but actually do things.
"Excellent" means advanced and transcendent in English. But if it is not perfect, nothing can be done. That’s why I say we are excellent, that is, we must achieve excellence.
These concepts played a great role in creating the atmosphere of the company at that time, and the company was full of righteousness. In addition to these four words, we also asked Taiwan Consulting Group to design the company logo. The deputy director of the Taiwan Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park Administration and other experts from the company participated. After discussion and voting by all employees of the company, it was a company logo composed of The satellite composed of the two characters "Zhangjiang" plus the English word "High tec park" highlights the internationalization.
Driven by the corporate philosophy, Zhangjiang employees have won the trust of investors with their sincerity and united hard work, and Zhangjiang has welcomed a number of world-renowned high-tech enterprises to settle in.
In 1993, Panasonic showed its intention to cooperate. In the negotiation with Panasonic, we offered 80 US dollars per square meter, the other party offered 72 US dollars, and the final deal was made at 79 US dollars. But after they returned to Japan, they asked for a lower price. To show our sincerity, we gave them $0.50. Despite this, the price was high for industrial land transfers at the time. In October of that year, Panasonic microwave ovens and magnetrons entered Zhangjiang.
In 1995, French Valeo Automobile Electric Company inspected multiple development zones and finally selected Zhangjiang.Afterwards, their agent told me that the reason for their success was that when receiving them, I personally appeared as the general manager and only brought an interpreter and an assistant to the negotiation. I responded to every question and they were very satisfied. , therefore, it gave Zhangjiang the highest score in the ratings of various development zones, and settled in Zhangjiang in February 1995.
In 1995, Japan's Yamako Electronics planned to rent a standard factory building in Zhangjiang at a price of US$40. A dinner was held on the night after the agreement was signed. Mr. Yamako was very excited at the banquet and raised glasses with everyone. We found that Mr. Yamayuki was drunk, so we immediately decided to change the signing date to the next day and sent someone to take him back to his room to rest. He was very moved when he woke up the next morning and signed the contract immediately.
With our efforts, Zhangjiang has gradually established its own brand. American Allianz Supercharger, Baosteel Software, Norwegian Nycomed ion developer, Motorola mobile phone, Medtronic pacemaker, Mitsubishi Logistics Warehousing, Alphatech Integrated Circuit, SmithKline Beecham Vaccine, etc. have successively settled in Zhangjiang, and in 1994 In November, a new drug research and development center was established, and the high-tech park began to take shape.
Talents and planning give Zhangjiang wings to take off
There is a crucial factor in the development of Zhangjiang, which is the human problem. When we first arrived in Zhangjiang, we couldn't even pay our wages, which was very difficult. I asked everyone to show off and said that our wages might be gone within a month or two. If you want to stay, you can stay, and if you want to go, you can go. What touches and gratifies me is that all of us backbone members said: We will continue to work without getting paid, we will work hard with Zhangjiang to the end, and we will do our best to build the Zhangjiang Development Park. The key to the development of
company is the unity of the team. In 1993, based on business needs and with the approval of the New District Party Working Committee, we adjusted the team members. Three vice presidents, Liu Zhengyi, Mao Deming and Qian Renjie, and I formed the company's leadership team. They dare to speak out and discuss matters with everyone. They are very capable and capable people. We get along well, and when we work together, we are very open about management and work, and we openly criticize things we are not satisfied with. The team worked very well together and formed a common fighting friendship. At that time, someone was dissatisfied with my blunt way of speaking and complained to the organization. On the one hand, Vice Mayor Zhao Qizheng reminded me to pay attention to the improvement of language arts level, and on the other hand, he promptly stopped the trend of complaining and gave our team great support and trust.
At that time, the education level of our employees in Zhangjiang was mainly college-educated. There were very few people with university degrees and even fewer people who knew foreign languages. This was not in line with the requirements of the international Zhangjiang High-tech Park. So we proposed to introduce talents at that time. We adopt an open recruitment method, publishing recruitment notices in newspapers, conducting ratings, and finally conducting interviews. Nearly 20 college students and 1 Ph.D. were recruited using this method. At the same time, we also provided a good working and living environment for college students. That year, we bought 6 houses in Yangzhen Community, north of Longdong Road, as dormitories for college students and master's students from other places in Shanghai. College students share a room with two persons, and master students share a room with one person. We allow all employees to participate in cultural and sports activities every week in the newly built tennis courts, swimming pools and cultural entertainment halls to exercise and stay energetic, which presents a new atmosphere. This is also the first of its kind among development zone companies. In the passionate years of Zhangjiang's initial development, it was they who made selfless contributions to Zhangjiang, sweated, contributed wisdom, and left behind their fiery youth, which enabled Zhangjiang to grow step by step. Another crucial factor in the development of
Zhangjiang is planning. Planning is the core strategy of a park. If Zhangjiang wants to build a "first-class high-tech park", it needs a first-class master plan. In the regional planning of Zhangjiang Park, we listened to the opinions of many professionals at home and abroad. In 1994, we asked Taiwan Consulting Group, Japanese Urban Architectural Design Institute, Australian architectural designers and Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Institute to study and adjust the original plan.
We also listened to the opinions and suggestions of domestic experts on Zhangjiang’s development plan.In December 1994, based on the opinions of Vice Mayor Zhao Qizheng, we invited presidents of 22 universities across the country, 15 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering, 22 professors and 36 experts from relevant Shanghai departments to form the Zhangjiang High-tech Park Advisory Committee and expert committee to provide intellectual support for Zhangjiang’s revised park plan. This move should be the first of its kind in the country. Vice Mayor Zhao personally wrote to major universities and research institutes across the country, asking them to provide suggestions for Zhang Jiang. Deans and vice-deans from so many first-class universities gathered in Zhangjiang. At the founding ceremony, Vice Mayor Zhao enthusiastically mobilized them to support Zhang Jiang. Experts from all over the country discussed the industrial planning and development strategies of the park, provided valuable suggestions, and laid important strategic ideas for our planning. In January 1995, after discussions by the Zhangjiang Expert Advisory Committee, in March, we held the "Research Meeting on the Economic and Social Medium and Long-term Development Planning of Zhangjiang High-tech Park" and decided to upgrade Zhangjiang from the original high-tech industrial zone to a science and technology park. , also known as the international technology city.
In this plan, we have adjusted the shape and industry of the park. In terms of form, the concept of "four districts" combining industrial areas, science and education areas, living supporting areas and township areas was proposed. In terms of scientific research and education, Zhangjiang’s goal is to target foreign science cities and introduce Shanghai’s first-class universities and scientific research institutions into Zhangjiang. We envision Fudan University, Jiaotong University, University of Foreign Studies, Shanghai University, Shanghai Second Medical College, and Shanghai University of Foreign Trade. Since the city later considered building Songjiang University Town, the introduction was not successful.
In 1994, Zhang Xuebing, director of the Pudong New Area Social Development Bureau, and Li Chuwen, the then municipal government’s foreign affairs adviser, came to Zhangjiang and said that Mr. Li Ka-shing intended to invest 40 million yuan to build a foreign language school in Pudong, but the land cost was not included. We immediately agreed, but put forward three conditions: first, this land can only be used for schools and cannot be converted into commercial land in the future; second, we Zhangjiang must send people to his education committee; third, all students in Zhangjiang and Pudong Entering this school must be given equal priority. After they told Mr. Li Ka-shing, he readily agreed. In this way, Shanghai International Studies University Pudong Foreign Languages School was born in Zhangjiang.
In terms of industrial development, the adjusted plan has changed from the original dozen to three key developments, namely the biomedical industry, the microelectronic information industry and the optical, mechanical and electrical integration industry. The origin of the biopharmaceutical industry was the arrival of the first foreign company, Roche Pharmaceuticals. Vice Mayor Zhao thought it was very good. He said that the United States has Silicon Valley, and we are creating a pharmaceutical valley, thus proposing the concept of pharmaceutical valley. Basically, we grasped these three items at that time, concentrated resources and efforts to build these three industries, and achieved results in all of them. The software park was successful. The Medicine Valley has basically taken shape as a number of multinational biopharmaceutical companies such as Nycomed, Medtronic, SmithKline Beecham, and Kirin gathered in Zhangjiang. In the mechatronics industry, we have a number of mechanical companies settling in, such as LianSign, Panasonic, Motorola, Fario, and Alphatech. It was the concentration of industrial planning that enabled Zhangjiang to develop smoothly along the way.
Under the care of Director Xia Liqing of the Municipal Planning Bureau, this plan became part of the general report of "Shanghai High-tech Industrial Development Zone's Ninth Five-Year Plan and 2010 Outlook" in December 1995. What is gratifying is that although Zhangjiang has made some adjustments in the future development process, it still aims at high-tech urban areas and focuses on the development of three major industries.
Looking at Pudong from Zhangjiang and Shanghai in the 1990s, that was the era when the clarion call for reform and opening up was sounded. Under the banner of Pudong development and opening up, Zhangjiang people bravely shouldered heavy responsibilities, dared to be the first, pioneered and forged ahead, and created a grand blueprint in this hot land, becoming a new landmark focused on the tide of Shanghai's reform and opening up. This difficult entrepreneurial period has also become an unforgettable and proud experience for me.
column editor: Wang Haiyan Text editor: Hong Junjie
source: Xie Liping, Guo Ji, Zhou Yiyun, Huang Xiao
