Shanghai has spent the past decade transforming its former industrial waterways into artistic and recreation hubs, breathing new life into century-old factory sites. Rock climbing boulders sit among the shipping cranes of the West Bund, and the warehouses of Suzhou Creek now house hip cafes.

Up in Yangpu is a lesser-known of these reclamations, the Yangshupu Power Plant Ruins Park. The power plant, which began operating in 1912, was the first modern power plant constructed in East Asia, set in the middle of the cotton mills that dotted Yangpu and Hongkou at the time (next door, one cotton mill has been repurposed into the Shanghai International Fashion Center). With two towering smokestacks that at one point were the tallest structures in Shanghai, it remained one of the largest coal-fired power plants in China throughout the 20^th century, until it was shut down in 2010. The transformation from power plant to park began in 2015, and is still ongoing, and a construction workers' dormitory sits just behind a park fence.

Today, the park is a pleasant mix of green space and industrial-chic installations on the banks of the Huangpu River. There is a branch of One Step Coffee (open daily from 10-5), housed in a circular, glass walled pavilion, and a small exhibition giving the history of the site and its role in labor movements. To the south, the Yangpu bridge arcs across the skyline, with the Shanghai Tower and Jinmao Tower skyscrapers peeking out behind it.

While farther from downtown, the Yangshupu Power Plant Relics Park has a few advantages over the West Bund. One, not that many people are there, compared with the crush of humanity who flood the Xuhui riverfront. On a beautiful September weekend, it was pleasantly quiet, with a significant portion of those present photographers and models dressed up in cosplay outfits, taking advantage of the industrial equipment, golden hour light, and riverfront backdrop. Second, you are allowed to interact with the equipment, walking along the elevated platforms, climbing up towers, and riding bicycles in the park. And third, there is the smokestack background. The West Bund has generic office towers and shopping malls as a backdrop. Up in Yangpu is a pair of 100-meter-tall towers and faded industrial ruins.

How to get there:

The Yangshupu Power Plant Ruins Park (杨树浦电厂遗迹公园) is located at 2800 Yangshupu Lu (to find the entrance, follow Tengyue Lu until it ends). It is free and open 24 hours. The closest metro station is Longchang Lu on line 18. But really I would recommend bicycling there, as the park is the terminus of the Yangpu Riverfront Bike Path. If you don't have your own bike, take the metro to Danyang Lu, get a shared bike, and go to Anpu Lu, where the bike path begins. Biking directly on the riverfront promenade, it takes you past similar old industrial sites and under the Yangpu Bridge. Once you see the massive smokestacks you will know you have arrived.

Yangshupu Power Plant Ruins Park

East of the intersection of Tengyue Lu and Pingding Lu, near Yangshupu Lu, Yangpu District