Miaohang Town, covering an area of nearly six square kilometers, is the smallest town in Shanghai. For a long time, the local community-level officials are faced with an insoluble problem -- "everything is good but not outstanding".

Recently, the 1.4-km shoreline of the Miaohang section of the Wenzaobang River has gained a new lease of life. The once sluggish area has revived, with an open and cozy space attracting both people and businesses. The industrial parks around the shoreline that once worried about how to attract enterprises have also taken the initiative since and can precisely control the industrial direction.

Recently, Baoshan has launched the "Practical Work for the People" campaign, which won "five-star ratings" from the people. Wenzaobang River shoreline opening and upgrading program was selected as a key project. In the practice of "Practical Work for the People" in Baoshan District in the first half of this year, the masses submitted more than 3,000 "golden ideas", and the number of hits on practical projects exceeded one million.

In the next step, Baoshan District will improve the mass evaluation mechanism and actively use online evaluation, publicity, and other carriers to strengthen the dynamic analysis of people's needs. "The key is to achieve accurate identification, accurate targeting, and accurate services." Chen Jie, Chief of the CPC Baoshan District Committee, said.

The dark and stinky river course was once "shunned" by citizens.

"I used to swim in this river when I was a child. I have witnessed it turn turbid and then back to clear now." Dai Jianhua, Party Secretary of Changbei Village, Miaohang Town, said. Born and raised in Miaohang Town, he has deep feelings for Langzaobang. Later, with the entry of surrounding industrial enterprises one after another, the appearance of Wenzaobang River gradually changed. The dark and stinky river course was once "shunned" by citizens. "At that time, if you had talked about going to the Wenzaobang River, everyone would have thought that you were planning to 'kick the bucket'."

Four or five years ago, districts in Shanghai started river course control one after another. Dirty rivers have recovered their once clear appearance little by little. However, it is regrettable that after the rectification of "Five Violations and Four Musts", the surrounding shoreline was still in a bleak shape. Dai Jianhua recalled that at that time, cotton warehouses, native products warehouses, and fruit warehouses built along the coast gradually disappeared. At the same time, however, the newly introduced enterprises failed to form a "cluster effect".

After coordination of different demands, the shoreline has taken on a new look.

Based on the "people's livelihood + development" philosophy, Miaohang Town has accelerated the upgrading of the landscape along the coast of Wenzaobang River as a project of "Practical Work for the People" this year. The 1.4-kilometer waterfront line of the Miaohang section of the Wenzaobang River made a stunning appearance after nearly half a year's "construction period". The shoreline has two sections themed "Wisdom" and "Vitality", respectively. The south of the "Wisdom" section lies a theme park, which meets outdoor communication and work needs. The south of the "Vitality" section lie the Longsheng Vitality Town and Donglin Sci-Tech Park, creating a waterfront space for public activities with family participation.

The collaboration- and common interests-based open space was not easy to build. "To make the entire waterfront space converge into a whole, we needed to let enterprises 'retreat' and move out of the shoreline space." Balancing and coordinating the interests of different parties not only was complicated but also tested the wisdom of governance. Fortunately, after repeated visits by community-level cadres, all enterprises were very optimistic about the development and reuse of the waterfront space, which accelerated the project’s advancement.

The 1.4-km waterfront line of the Miaohang section was not "reconstructed", but modified on the original basis. For example, at the Longsheng Vitality Town, the cranes and concrete piers left by the original wharf site were completely preserved and transformed into functional facilities such as landscape bridges and observation platforms.

The Miaohang section of the Wenzaobang River has also got an exclusive theme image -- Cat --, integrating the Chinese pinyin of Miao of Miaohang and Chen Bochui's "A Cat Who Wants to Fly" into the cityscape. The unique artistic units have become a hot spot that attracts many people to take the subway to visit. Shortly, the north side of the 1.4-km waterfront line of the Miaohang section of Wenzaobang River is also expected to be upgraded and opened. Related administrators hope that with the opening and operation of subway lines, Miaohang section can become a new practical example of waterfront space reconstruction.