An artistic rendering shows the "Watertown Parlor."
Another milestone in the development of the Yangtze River Delta demonstration zone was marked on Wednesday morning, with piles laid at the construction site of Shanghai's Qingpu District.
Construction on the core function area of the "Watertown Parlor" in Yangtze River Delta Ecology and Greenery Integration Demonstration Zone started on Wednesday.
The architecture known as "Square Hall and Water Courtyard" features a quadrangle dwelling, or siheyuan, design.
Pavilions showcasing Shanghai and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces will be set up at the four quadrangles and they will be connected by three covered bridges.
It is being built at the junction of Shanghai and neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, highlighting China's national strategy of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
The historical architectural style represents the unity of man and nature in traditional Chinese culture.
On the Taipu River, it will become a core site for exchanges, business and culture as well as the union of man and nature, which is also a manifestation of Chinese wisdom and cultural confidence.

An artistic rendering shows the "Square Hall and Water Courtyard."
High-quality riverfront spaces will be created for the public in the zone.
The demonstration zone for integrated ecological and green development in the Yangtze River Delta region, launched in 2019, comprises Shanghai's suburban Qingpu District, Wujiang District of Suzhou in Jiangsu and Jiashan County in Zhejiang.
The layout of the "Watertown Parlor" was also unveiled on Wednesday.
Based on the layout, it comprises parts of Jinze Town in Shanghai's Qingpu District, Lili Town in Wujiang District, and Xitang Town and Yaozhuang Town in Jiashan County, covering about 35.8 square kilometers.
The "Watertown Parlor" will feature typical Jiangnan (regions in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) flavor with a modern approach.
Green and blue spaces will account for about 75 percent of its total space.
Based on the design, it will have wetlands, greenways and culture and tourism villages.
A modern, convenient, green and intelligent transportation system will be established.

An artist's rendering shows the "Square Hall and Water Courtyard."
By 2025, an interconnected ecological system and traffic network of the zone will take shape, and the zone will become a model of "world-class water village and human settlement" by 2035, with the strictest natural and ecological protection rules, according to the plan.
"It will present the achievements of the Yangtze River Delta region, after the integrated growth of the region was elevated as a national strategy in November 2018," deputy director of the executive committee of the demonstration zone, Zhang Zhongwei, told a press conference on Wednesday. "It showcases the ecological and green development concept of the zone, which is also an experimental field for institutional innovation."
Duan Jin, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor of Southeast University responsible for the design, said "the design highlights the application of Chinese culture and embodies elements such as dougong, a bracketing system used in ancient Chinese building."
"The 'water courtyard' reflects Jiangnan flavor and inherits Jiangnan culture," he added.

An artistic rendering shows the layout of the "Watertown Parlor."
Source: Shanghai Daily