LovePuXi

Xinzhuang (莘庄;莘莊; Xīnzhuāng) is a town within Minhang district, Shanghai. Xinzhuang Station houses the terminal station for metro line 1 and connects to line 5. It also houses the Xinzhuang Railway Station (Shanghai–Kunming Railway) and a large bus terminal.

Shanghai Xinzhuang Industrial Park (Also called Xinzhuang Industrial Zone) was established in August 1995 by the Shanghai Minhang District Government. It is located in the geographical centre of Shanghai and covers an area of 13.65km2. It is 12km south of Hongqiao Transportation Hub.

In the Xinzhuang Central Business District, 11.9 hectares has been dedicated to development of a employment, living and entertainment centre to the over 300,000 residents within a 3km radius, called the Mapletree Minhang Business Zone. It also aims to be a transportation hub, with the intersection of Metro Line 12 which is currently in operation and Line 5 Extension (Also called line 2 extension, Line 17, Line 20, Jiamin line) which is scheduled for completion in 2018.

Temasek Holdings Private Limited (owned by Kementerian Kewangan or the Ministry of Finance of Singapore via its Government of Singapore Investment Corporation [GIC Private Limited]) via its Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd has two investment vehicles to pay for the development of the site, Mapletree India China Fund and Mapletree China Opportunity Fund II (Mapletree owns 36% of the fund and the fund is managed by Mapletree Real Estate Advisors Pte. Ltd.). The area is named after Singapore Vivocity and Mapletree Business City (also located in Singapore).

Mapletree Business City (Also called Mapletree Business City Shanghai, Mapletree Minghang Business Zone, Mapletree Minhang Business Zone) is located at 2337, Gudai Road, Minhang District. It offers 7 office towers which provide 200,000m2 of space.

Vivo City (Also called Minhang Vivocity, Vivocity Shanghai, VivoCity Shanghai mall) is located at No. 1507, Qixin Road, Minhang District. It offers 280 shops contained within a 8 story (5 above ground, 3 below ground) structure,  providing 297,000m2 of space, of which 221,000m2 is lettable (originally designed for 120,000m2). It boasts to have the largest open-air rooftop garden and children’s playground. It’s façade is designed similar to a bamboo fish basket (Yu Lou) as a symbol of prosperity. It features a woven pattern that represents both the bamboo basket and fish scales. Air purification in its HVAC system is designed to remove PM2.5.

An open, but covered, elevated walkway ‘Sky bridge’ connects Mapletree Business City and Vivo City together. Also Metro Line 12’s ‘Qixin Road’ station will have four exits which connect underground, linking Mapletree Business City and Vivo City together.

To the west of the site, a artificial lake is being built, which may be surrounded by housing.

The structure is impressive in scale as one approaches from the north east corner of the vivocity mall. The ‘Mi’ branded store drew me in and I found a range of products from this relatively famous brand in China, especially in Shenzhen. Outside the store, I found a virtual presence/assistance robot which sadly didn’t understand my mandarin, english or shanghainese. I headed up to the escalators and was drawn to an odd set of unmarked doors on the third floor – here I found the Sky Bridge. I then headed further up, to the 6^th floor and found roof top access to an impressive green space, which offered nice views of the area and even provided some playsets for children. As I walked around the roof, I found a small wading pool, next to vivo club – which offers a children’s indoor play room and small movie theater (a sunken circular seat or a padded sunken step) on one side and a room with magazines, a coffee machine, air purifiers, apple computers and a range of spaces with tables and padded seating. All this space is accessible with a vivocity membership card and the collection of points via purchases from on-site retailers.

I then headed inside and soon found another exit to the roof, up a couple of steps and found a large green space, with a slight bowl shape. I headed back inside and gandered at some food establishments and shops, as I made my way to the basement. Memorable shops include the kids employment park – Fanpekka, Sichuan KungFu Fish, Musang King (durian shop – includes durian soft serve ice cream), Disco and G-super. I finally made my way out of the compound and headed to street level. I walked north, along the edge of the Business City, on Qinxin Road, past the entrance gate and finally stop and caught a taxi. After a quick drive north, we were in Qibao area by the Vanke mall and soon I was heading east, towards home.