Overview Hongqiao Sub-district was established in 1986 when China was opening and reforming itself. As a vital element of Hongqiao Sub-district, Hongqiao Development Zone became one of the first technological and economic development zones authorized by the State Council of China. Historic opportunities and missions have contributed to the first center of international trade and foreign inhabitants in Shanghai. Now, Hongqiao Sub-district continues to lead the trend as an embodiment of “whole-process people’s democracy” and a sample of community best practices.

The central concept of SUSAS 2021 “15-minute Community Life Circle-People’s City” shows how urban development is shifting towards people’s daily life. The exemplar community exhibition at Hongqiao, based on the highlights of the sub-district itself, intends to incorporate the practical principles of “whole-process people’s democracy” into the exhibition mechanisms. Along the thread of “Our Community, Our Exhibition” and engaging people to take part in all processes of the exhibition, Hongqiao Exhibition offering its own interpretation of the theme of SUSAS 2021.

The title of Exemplar Community Exhibition at Hongqiao, “Vitality IN Hongqiao” refers to the Vitality Circle in the blueprint of Hongqiao 15-minute Community Life Circle, which is an essential element of the planning of Hongqiao Sub-district (Vitality Circle + Three Neighborhoods + Multiple Nodes) as well as a spatial embodiment of people’s wonderful life. “IN” contains a range of connotations: in-trend, in-place and in-ternational. The main exhibition venue, Gubei Civic Center (demonstrative base of “Whole-process People’s Democracy” of Hongqiao Sub-district), shows the lively and daily practices of democracy in Hongqiao. The three sub-exhibition venues – Gubei International Block, Hongqiao Development Zone and Good Old Neighborhood – offer a comprehensive demonstration of the vitality of Hongqiao and the life of its residents

Curatorial Program

The thematic exhibition comprises of a special exhibition of Hongqiao 15-minute Community Life Circle Planning (Figure 03), “Memories of Hongqiao” which shows rich local histories (Figure 04) and a “Exhibition of Community Public Actions” on the Golden Street which is an extension of “Knock Knock: Call for Neighborhood Action Proposals” (Figure 05). Knock Knock invites community residents to bring up their suggestions to improve the neighborhood environment. The outstanding proposals selected by public voting and professional evaluation are implemented with the support of the sub-district office and the participation of residents and other agents, and the accomplishments directly enter the SUSAS exhibition which shows a mechanism featuring people-as-curators and people-as-implementers. The proposals include eco-projects such as “Cottage Photovoltaics”, public space improvements such as “New Benches for the Central Plaza”, transportation optimizations such as “Parking Bay” (Figure 06) and community events such as “Naturalistic Lane in Our Neighborhood” (Figure 07) and “Ginkgo Culture Festival”. The community magazine “Gubei Gubei” is a helpful boost to the construction of community culture and the self-identification of residents. The adoption of the magazine as the tour manual of the exhibition constitutes a novel attempt to incorporate the exhibition with the local community.

Besides, the exhibition will be aligned with community public events such as “The Most Beautiful Moment of Golden Street – Ginkgo Culture Festival” (Figure 08, 09) and invite an artist to create an interactive installation inspired by falling Ginkgo leaves. All these, plus the multiple community public services stations and activity scenarios within Hongqiao Sub-district, will create a vital and ongoing season of urban space art.