The 20th China (Shanghai) International Boat Show (CIBS) will set sail in Shanghai this April.

Waibaidu Bund — the Financial Cluster Zone on the North Bank of Lujiazui

Shanghai, March 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The 20th China (Shanghai) International Boat Show (CIBS) will officially set sail at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center in April. Meanwhile, the Shanghai International Shipping Service Center, as the co-organizer of the CIBS water exhibition area, will be launched once again.This exhibition featuresa yacht harbor basin covering an area of approximately 21,000 square meters of water space,providing berths forover a hundred yachts.In addition,a nearly 800-meter scenic promenade along the Huangpu Riverfacesthe Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone across the river, offering panoramic views of both sides of the Huangpu. The water exhibition area of the 2015 China (Shanghai) International Boat Show will be open to the public from April 9 to 15.

Waibaidu Bund

Shanghai International Shipping Service Centeris locatedon the north bank of the Huangpu River, in the most central area of Shanghai. Asia’s largest green commercial and office building complex is quietly rising here. It can be described as an “economic mega-vessel” navigating the world, serving as an important platform for the development of the international financial and shipping industry and bringing together the world’s finest financial and maritime enterprises. This mega-vessel has a resounding name: -- Waibaidu Bund, meaning the “New Bund Where Stars Gather.”

Waibaidu Bund is located in the southern riverside area of Hongkou District and is the birthplace of Shanghai’s shipping culture, sharing the same lineage as the financial culture of the Bund. The original site of the project was the Huishan Dock and Gaoyang Dock, whichwere part ofChina’s most important industrial loading and unloading docksat one time.It is just a bridge away from the century-old buildings of the Bund and faces the Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone across the river.

The project is jointly developed by Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd. and Fangxing Real Estate, a member company of Sinochem Group in China. The entire project consists of three parts: the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal, the Shanghai International Shipping Service Center, and the Xinggang International Center (also known as H55), with a total construction area of over 1.5 million square meters. Within the area, plans call for the construction of high-quality office buildings covering 3 million square meters, comparable to the 4.35 million square meters planned for Lujiazui, jointly promoting the strategic layout of “two wings soaring together” along the Huangpu River.

Currently, Shanghai’s urban master plan has designated Waibaidu Bund and its surrounding area as a core central business district of Shanghai, on par with the Lujiazui Central Area and the Bund. It is also a vital component of Shanghai’s effort to develop a central business district “that meets the needs of a global metropolis and possesses the ability to allocate global resources.”

Currently, the area hosts more than 3,000 shipping service companies, including dozens of central and state-owned enterprises. Among them are 26 functional shipping institutions such as the Shanghai Shipping Exchange and the China Ports Association, as well as international leading enterprises such as COSCO Group, China Shipping Group, Baosteel Group, Shanghai Construction Group, and Singapore’s Pacific International Lines. It also gathers a large number of financial institutions such as China Construction Investment, Xinhua Insurance, ICBC, China Construction Bank, and Postal Savings Bank of China, forming an industrial layout where finance and shipping thrive together. The project was initiated in 1999, and nearly two-thirds of the total work has been completed. It is expected to be fully completed by 2017. By then, 34 internationally standard green commercial and office buildings will stand on the north bank of the Huangpu River, becoming global green landmarks. This holds epoch-making significance for Shanghai and even China.