Bridge opens China's 'last virgin island' for development
Shanghai (AFP) Oct 31, 2009 – China on Saturday opens a new bridge over the Yangtze that will pave the way for rapid development of the country’s “last virgin island,” Chongming — now just an hour’s drive from booming Shanghai. With a surface area 50 percent bigger than Singapore, the island has captured the imagination of developers, who have considered building everything from a Disney theme park to a replica of Michael Jackson’s
Neverland ranch. Some fear a parade of eager investors buoyed by the new transport links could ruin the rustic island and its vast wetlands, but officials insist the site will not become a stomping ground for land grabs and overdevelopment. … But many are concerned that the island could fall prey to unscrupulous developers. Philip Enquist, a Chicago-based architect with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, was hired by the Shanghai government to design a master plan for the island, which included compact communities spaced about 16 kilometres (10 miles) apart. But he has heard nothing from officials for two years, when the Shanghai planning board handed authority over Chongming to a different department, and he fears the bridge will bring unchecked construction. “Chongming runs a huge risk of being poorly developed because it’s now accessible to Shanghai. There are very little constraints and there’s a lot of open land there,” Enquist told AFP. Chongming’s wetlands, which are home to several species of rare migratory bird, its proximity to Shanghai and its position at the mouth of the Yangtze combine to make the island a rare gem that should not be sullied, he said. “It could play a very unique role and it shouldn’t be built into the same suburban-ness that so much of Shanghai is turning into,” said Enquist, who also designed the master plan for the development of Abu Dhabi. …
