Can't Meilan Lake retain young people? Science and Technology Innovation Lake District Brings Long Desired Turnaround to Luodian Biopharmaceuticals | Baoshan | Science and Technology Innovation | Meilan Lake
【 Editor's note 】 Shanghai suburban towns are an important unit of regional economy, a key spatial support for industrial transformation and upgrading, and the main battlefield for solving the urban-rural dual structure. They play an important role in the overall economic and social development of Shanghai.
Recently, a reporter from Jiefang Daily's Shangguan News visited a group of suburban towns in Shanghai to observe how they seize strategic opportunities to integrate into larger urban circles, how they leverage their own advantages to promote rural revitalization, and how secondary development can reshape industrial ecology... From the breakthrough, momentum, and transformation of suburban towns in Shanghai, we can glimpse the development vitality and unresolved issues of a modern international metropolis.
What is the experience of living in the "nerve endings" of urban rail transit networks? At the terminus of Line 7, Meilan Lake, you may gain a lot of helplessness and fatigue from many people.
I don't know when, but Lake Meilan has become a place that citizens call "less prestigious". It has a pleasant name, but along with its location, it faces a long and awkward period in the rapid development process of the city.
Once, it was known as "the most beautiful place in northern Shanghai" because of its dense forest coverage, fresh and natural air, and concentrated Nordic essence building communities. Why couldn't we achieve the planned beauty? When the label of "beauty" no longer shines brightly, how can we attract and retain young people on the path of industry city integration that is livable and business friendly? What are the new driving forces that lead high-quality economic development? This is a concern for people and a profound question that must be answered in the economic and social development of Meilan Lake, Luodian Town, and Baoshan District.
Beside Meilan Lake.
Ancient town? Nordic style? Sleeping City?
Looking back at history, Luodian has a brilliant resume. Located at the junction of Taicang, Jiading District, and Baoshan District in Jiangsu Province, with intertwined waterways and convenient transportation, it has always been a place of economic prosperity and a battleground for military strategists.
The Annals of Luodian Town record that since its establishment in the Yuan Dynasty, Luodian Town has been rich in cotton, yarn, and cloth, which are sold well in Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu. Gradually, merchants gathered and various industries gathered, and it was already known as "Jinluodian" during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. In 1984, after the establishment of Luodian Township at that time, industry and agriculture advanced together, and the total output value exceeded 100 million yuan the following year. In the late 1990s, foreign investment gradually increased. In order to adapt to the development situation, Luodian established two industrial zones in the town and invested in infrastructure. A number of high-tech Sino foreign joint ventures were successively established.
In 2000, the ambitious Shanghai "One City, Nine Towns" plan was launched, drawing on the experience of foreign characteristic urban construction to build a new town demonstration zone in each surrounding area of the main urban area. Luodian is on the list, focusing on the construction goal of a Nordic style town. Since 2002, a new town development of 6.8 square kilometers has been launched on a piece of farmland and abandoned factories. With 300 acres of artificial lakes, green vegetation forests, theme parks, sculpture squares, and golf greens revealing their true appearance, the new town of Luodian, south of the ancient town and centered around Meilan Lake, has emerged, changing the image of Baoshan as an industrial hub in the past and becoming a popular "green new landmark" among citizens. Real estate developers are also taking action, buying land and building residential properties to create a buzz.
Outside the Meilan Lake subway station, there are a large number of electric vehicles parked.
This kind of highlight moment did not last too long. Using Meilan Lake as a keyword to search for mainstream media reports in this city over the past 20 years, apart from the convenience of integrating the people of Luodian into the "one hour city center living circle" with the opening of Meilan Lake Station on Line 7 at the end of 2010, the introduction of population in Luodian's large residential area, and the gradual improvement of regional commercial, educational, and medical facilities, most of the reports are about annual sports events, conferences, and newly opened real estate projects. The living population is increasing, but the planned beautiful scenery of livability, business, and tourism has not been fully realized. The new town has also failed to effectively radiate and drive the development of the old town area and industrial park in the north, and the urban interface between the north and south of the Yueluo Highway still maintains a sense of fragmentation.
Some people say that on weekdays, Luodian is quiet during the day, and elderly people walking their children are often seen on the streets. Some restaurants along the street even only open at night. Aunt Zhang, who lived with her daughter and son-in-law in the vicinity of Meilan Lake in her hometown of Shandong for 10 years, supports this point: "The environment here is good and suitable for elderly care, but young people still have to work in other places. When taking their children out to play on weekends, they also have to go to the city." For tourists from other places, it is a scenic spot that can be avoided; In the eyes of the majority of Shanghai citizens, Meilan Lake represents the edge of the city and is a distant existence; For residents of Luodian Daju and the town area, staying is mostly due to lower living costs compared to the urban area. However, due to the lack of competitive industrial support and attractive job opportunities, people have to live a life of "taking public transportation or driving to the direction of the central urban area in the morning, ending the day's work, and returning to their residence only after nightfall.".
Meilan Lake town at noon on weekdays.
Meilan Lake, Luodian Town, has become a "sleeping city"?
Based on "innovative drugs", rise up and run
Both theory and practice have shown that the development of industrial economy has a significant promoting effect on regional sustainable development, especially for industrial clusters with regional characteristics, which can effectively promote overall regional development and enhance regional competitiveness. The arrival of innovative drugs has brought a long-awaited turning point for Luodian.
In 2020, Shanghai benchmarked against global cutting-edge technology, anchored as a global innovation hub, and established biopharmaceuticals as one of the three leading industries for key development. In April of the same year, Baoshan North Shanghai Biomedical Industry Park, one of the five characteristic parks of the city's biopharmaceutical industry, was unveiled, undertaking the "Zhangjiang overflow and Suzhou return" and launching a full industrial chain layout of enterprise headquarters, research and development, and production. Baoshan District, which is striving for "northern transformation", also regards biopharmaceuticals as one of the four leading industries. Luodian Town, located in the core industry area of the North Shanghai Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park, is facing opportunities.
Baoshan Yaogu Biomedical Park Central Park.
Not long ago, after three years of waiting, Liu Yanjun, Chairman of Baoji Pharmaceutical, finally moved into a new office located at 28 Luoxin Road. He is a veteran in the field of biomedicine, leading the research and development of ten bioengineered drugs and a class of new drugs. He is also one of the first entrepreneurs in the North Shanghai Biomedical Industry Park. In his words, the landing of Baoji Pharmaceutical in Luodian, Baoshan is a "two-way journey" that deeply cultivates the innovative drug research and development team and creates a favorable development environment for innovative enterprises. For three years, the team has never stopped innovating and has applied for 74 invention patents, including 8 authorized invention patents and dozens of drug pipelines under research. Now, the factory covering an area of about 94 acres has been renovated and constructed, and a team of 300 people has entered production. The national major new drug innovation project undertaken by Baoji Pharmaceutical will move towards industrialization there. The Baoji New Industrial Project, which covers an area of about 55 acres and has a total investment of over 700 million yuan, is also under construction in Luodian Town.
The first phase of the Guosheng Industrial Investment Baoshan Pharmaceutical Valley project, with a total investment of 1.8 billion yuan, was also completed and accepted in August, not far from Baoji. As a demonstration project of the North Shanghai Biomedical Industry Park, this biopharmaceutical park focuses on the manufacturing of high value-added biological products, medical devices, and original new drugs, introducing key links in the headquarters, research and development, production, and industrial chain. At present, a group of key enterprises such as Youkadi and Letu Life Technology have settled in the park to carry out internal production equipment debugging, and the Yaokang Biological Animal Laboratory has been put into use. Liu Tao, General Manager of Shengluo Biopharmaceutical, stated that with the completion of the renovation of the 2000 square meter public laboratory and hazardous goods warehouse, and the complete provision of public supporting facilities in the main building, the park's appearance will be revitalized and more popular by the end of October.
Baoshan Yaogu Biomedical Park Central Park.
The towering and bustling tower cranes are a reflection of Luodian's rise and running in the biopharmaceutical industry. Wang Yefeng, the person in charge of North Shanghai Biomedical Industry Park Development Co., Ltd., said that through "attracting business through commerce", more and more biopharmaceutical and medical device enterprises have come to the park. With the support of the district and town governments, the park actively innovates cooperation models and explores a stock land transformation model of "owner transformation+park investment+factory customization" according to enterprise needs, matching suitable carriers for Huiyong Pharmaceutical and Bowo Biotechnology; Innovate the "lease first, let later, integrate multiple parties, and customize high-end" model. It is planned that the park project company will delist 30 acres of industrial land and customize the construction of the Asia Pacific R&D operation center for Lugen Instrument Company; Using equity ties as a breakthrough point, we deeply participate in the development of enterprises through "investment instead of subsidies", and help enterprises implement key funds at key nodes. Luodian Town told the enterprise through practical actions, "Let scientists focus on scientific research experiments and let the park be responsible for bricks and tiles."
To ensure good service guarantee is to reassure enterprises and promote orderly and healthy development of the industry. The introduction of industrial projects also constantly brings new changes to the region.
Add "jigsaw puzzles" to create a science and technology innovation lake area
The new spatial pattern of "Meilan Lake+innovative drugs" has been established, what is the next step in the integration of industry and city?
Regional vitality cannot be separated from factor aggregation and talent mobility. The abundant supply of production, living, and ecological space provides a soil for technological innovation and possibilities for dialogue, communication, and collision among people. In this sense, Meilan Lake needs to create a science and technology innovation lake area, truly attract and retain young people, and also fill in the missing "puzzle" to create an overall atmosphere.
Yichi Garden Meilan Lake Store.
In the past two years, the saying "Meilan Lake is not far, the distance of a cup of coffee" has been circulating in Baoshan. Although the coffee industry has become particularly developed in Shanghai, and the binding between coffee and office white-collar workers is no longer as close, the speed and intensity of coffee shop layout in remote urban areas still affect people's judgment of regional development. From the entrance of Baoshan Medicine Valley, the most prominent position of the main building is that the Starbucks store is already undergoing renovation. Liu Tao stated that starting from September 28th, office workers in the park can enjoy a cup of hot coffee without leaving. By the Meilan Lake, the coffee and light food industries have entered a period of explosive growth, with businesses such as One Foot Garden, McDonald's, Starbucks, Manner Coffee, John's, and DQ lining up along the street. The M stand coffee store is currently undergoing renovation, providing people with diverse choices.
Besides eating and drinking, there is also spiritual and cultural life. In mid August, Reader Yilin Cultural Space celebrated its second birthday by the Meilan Lake. The person in charge, Zhuang Jiantong, said that by organizing the Meilan Lake audio reading season, various cultural lectures, and parent-child picture book reading activities, the store has accumulated a group of loyal fans who live and work in the surrounding area, becoming a "cultural and artistic space at the doorstep" for people to spend leisure time. The Da Yin Bookstore, also located in the small town of Meilan Lake and covering an area of nearly 2000 square meters, has started trial operations. At the end of the summer, many parents have taken their children to observe and buy books. The store manager stated that after the official opening, the Chen Bochui Children's Library on the second floor will integrate resources from national key publishing houses and publishing institutions, exhibit outstanding works of previous Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Awards and tens of thousands of various children's books for readers to borrow.
Meilan Lake Grand Hidden Bookstore.
Standing by the lake and looking out, the large commercial and residential urban complex covering an area of about 700000 square meters above the Meilan Lake subway station presents a rapidly changing appearance. After completion, it will alleviate people's long-standing criticism of the lack of high-quality office carriers and iconic commercial spaces in the Meilan Lake area. The relevant person in charge introduced that the construction of the commercial and office plot is in full swing, including the installation of glass curtain walls, aluminum panels, stone finishes, curtain wall lighting fixtures in the shopping center, installation of skylight profiles, and atrium escalators. The main investment attraction store has reached preliminary intentions and is expected to open next year. The construction of the self-sustaining office tower structure has been completed, and the pouring of the subway bridge has been completed. It is estimated to be completed by the end of the year and investment promotion will be initiated. The saleable office building has completed its facade installation and is currently undergoing internal decoration and mechanical and electrical construction. It is expected to be delivered to biopharmaceutical and high-end intelligent manufacturing enterprises for use in the first quarter of next year.
A corner of the commercial office space in CIMC Jindi Meilan City.
Changes bring joy and also trigger new concerns. At the Shanghai Transportation and Urban Construction Forum, someone bluntly stated that there are free shuttle buses from Meilan Lake subway station to various stations in the North Shanghai Biomedical Industry Park. "However, having only one minibus is definitely not enough. What should we do if more and more commuters in the future?" The "last mile" transportation problem requires further consideration and improvement by government departments and relevant parks, and more aspects related to the interconnection and deep integration of production, living, and ecological spaces in the region also need to be answered.
