ITC Xujiahui

Brought to you by Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties, this new exciting development already dominates the Xujiahui Skyline with the highest office tower within the district or "Puxi" at the moment (Shanghai North Bund will unveil their 480m by KPF in the future) with 43 floors at 220 meters in block A and 70 floors and 370 meters in block B. An extension of One ITC, a more low-key but high-end shopping and office destination at the corner of Guangyuan West Road and Huashan Road, Two ITC, a smaller office, and restaurant development nested in the middle upon Gunangyuan Road across from Shanghai Jiaotong University's 5^th gateway. ITC is an acronym for "International Trade Centre", giving hints on how the city views the future development of Xujiahui.

The ground floor is dominated by yet another mega-mall amongst the many within the immediate area of Xujiahui core with it having the deepest underground basement in Shanghai consisting of ample parking and commercial venues whilst connecting other existing subway Lines, 1, 9, and 11 that already run through Xujiahui core.

Due to the extreme size of the project, the project is a collaboration of many different architects with Perry Clark Architects (PC&P) and Lead 8 with the two office tower landmarks resembling steel petal skins wrapping together to tower above Xujiahui subdistrict. The towers have already attracted many large multinational companies such as Marriott, Nagase Trading, Taiping Life Insurance, Adidas China Headquarters, and a high-end luxury hotel, Andaz Shanghai, ensuring high-quality tenants and urban vitality.

The 400,000 sq.m mall already has around 4,000 sq.m allocated for luxury restaurants and dining with provocative many textured contemporary facades and an internal sweeping canopy and bridge structure linking the development to an integrated bus depot, to its phase one and two developments, as well as to the many commercial and heritage sites within Xujiahui hub.

With such a high density of shopping venues within Xujiahui Hub such as Grand Gateway, Metro City, TPY Plaza, Oriental Department Store, its own ITC, and ample underground shopping, it remains to be seen how the mall and the district can differ and complement each other in the future.

Legoland Resort Shanghai

LEGOLAND brought to us by Merlin Entertainments is located in Jinshan District's Fengjing Town consisting of eight themed lands, a themed park with over seventy rides, shows, attractions, and a hotel all revolving around the colorful nostalgic building blocks that we all grew up with, and is the first of its kind in China with others being constructed in Shenzhen and Sichuan.

Of the rides and exhibitions will be MiniLand, landmarks, and cityscapes all built from our favorite Legos, Rides such as Ninjago, The Dragon, and even a driving school for children all within an approximate 31.8 hectares of land. Although not listed on their website, there are rumors of rides unique to China inspired by China to be incorporated such as Journey to the West and the Legend of the Monkey King, making LEGOLAND Shanghai a unique experience from their vast portfolio of LEGOLAND properties.

The new theme park is expected to attract around three million to five million visitors per year from all over the Yangzte River Delta, not only from Shanghai Municipality. LEGOLAND Resorts, although, far in the suburbs of the city, can be accessible by the intercity station of Jinshan North Station which in turn can be accessible from Shanghai South Station by public transit, otherwise one would have to drive.

Shanghai Grand Opera House – Snøhetta

Finally, the much-anticipated Shanghai Grand Opera House by Snøhetta will be open to the public in 2025 since its globally winning entry in 2016. Located within the Shanghai Expo Culture Park by the Huangpu Riverfront, the Grand Opera House inspired by the Chinese Fan will become a new landmark for the global city of Shanghai.

With an area of over 140,000 sq.m, the venue will consist of three main opera halls - large (2,000 seats), medium (1,200 seats), and small (1000 seats) that will cater to both Chinese and Western operas.

The beauty of the concept is not only Snoetta's beautiful narrative of Chinese symbology, but how the architects took the narrative to blend public and private spaces through a grand sculptural spiraling staircase that leads visitors to the roof to overlook the Huangpu River, the Xuhui Riverfront and M+ Development, and the entire Shanghai Pudong Skyline downstream; ensuring memories for all.

Aside from the performance halls, the entire venue will integrate performance exchange, creation, and rehearsal of art education, research, and exhibitions in which large glass curtain walls will allow seamless vistas of the lush greenery of the Expo Culture Park to flow into the building and out.

The nearest subway exit to the Shanghai Grand Opera Theater will be through Line 7 at the Houtan Metro Station, where one would still need to trek at least 15 minutes to the building.

Shanghai Songjiang Railway Station

Shanghai Songjiang Railway Station was expanded and renovated in 2019 and will be fully operational in 2025 with 60,000 sq.m and connecting to the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou network whilst keeping its existing Shanghai-Kunming High-Speed Line.

As with China, many Railway Station redevelopment comes in conjunction with urban regeneration and developed entitled "City-Station Integration" development in which new districts or sub-business districts are built to capitalize upon the traffic critical mass that occurs within railway hubs.

Consisting of five floors with nine platforms and 23 lines, the station utilizes an upper-entrance lower-exit pedestrian structure to accommodate the increased 5,000-person capacity of the station, resulting in an elevated waiting hall above the tracks.

The design of the station is meant to represent Pujiang culture with the entire station representing a modern cloud floating in the sky, symbolizing the high-tech development aspirations of the Songjiang and Shanghai government of the district. The design language is sleek and metallic in nature, creating a sense of futurism and optimism. In the past, the execution of this symbolism has brought much design criticism from the general public, which can be found online.

The station can be accessible through metro Line 9 and in the future, by an extended Line 12 through Minghang, and is approximately 5.5km away from the People's Government of Songjiang District.

Pacific Xintiandi Commercial Center

Located within the Taipingqiao plate district near Shui On's Xintiandi, a staple of Shanghai's cultural entertainment scene, the Pacific Xintiandi Commercial Center is a mixture of commercial, office, and cultural venues within the central heart of the city and designed by well-known designers and design enterprises such as KPF, Kokai Studios, WSP, and ECADI.

The entire project, overlooking Xizang Nan Road to the east and Xintiandi Taiping Lake to the west, covers around 390,000 sq.m with 200,000 sq.m in grade A office buildings, and 83,000 sq.m in commercial. The highlight of the skyline is the KPF-designed 56 floors, the 250-meter T1 Central Grade A Office Tower whose facade is derived from "Shikumen" elements. The central tower floorplan is arranged in a diamond pattern, whilst the entire façade is framed also with diamond windows, rising out of the canopy into the sky, creating a unique visual iconic to demark a new place.

On the ground floor, a three-story 6,500 sq.m glass panoramic canopy will cover an internalized street, giving an all-weather experience from rain and shine with a three-story sky-green corridor connecting the internal hanging garden buildings, expressing the need to connect nature and man. The commercial portion of the venue will house bookstores, all-weather dining, and bars with rumors of the canopy consisting of light shows and special effects.

Much to the spirit of many Shui On's developments, history and culture are important in their development and place-making philosophy. Aside from retained historical buildings, existing cultural relics are said to be further embedded into the landscape and language of the entire project.

The entire project is accessible by metro Lines 8 and 10 from metro station Laoximen, if not by the traditional Line 1, Huangpu Nan Station, in which one would need to walk from Huaihai Zhong Road through the traditional Xintiandi.

Shanghai West Bund Convention Center

Another landmark is coming to the West Bund in 2025, making it truly one
of the world's greatest entertainment, tech, and cultural waterfront districts in
the world. With the opening of Gate M West Bund Dream Centre by MVRDV
and The Orbit by Thomas Heatherwick Studios in 2024, and the West Bund
Dome Art Centre by Schmidt Hammer Lassen and Perkin & Will in 2023, the
West Bund will add yet another landmark project in the year 2025, marking
a breathtaking development pace.

The Shanghai West Bund Convention Centre brought to us by SOM, is
located along the Huangpu River, acting as another icon along the Huangpu
River corridor while allowing access to the rooftop terraces for another
vantage point for people to overlook the majestic world-class riverfront.
The Convention Centre, resembling a golden diamond jewel, allows for
conferences, expos, and large-scale community events and is noted to be
holding the 2025 West Bund World Artificial Intelligence Conference this year.