On April 9, 2021, with the approval of the State Council, Hangzhou City officially launched the implementation of partial administrative division optimization andadjustments. The administrative districtofthe former Shangcheng District and Jianggan District (excluding Xiasha Sub-districtand Baiyang Sub-district) was merged to form the new administrative districtof Shangcheng District. The People’s Government is located at No. 77 Wangchao Road, Wangjiang Sub-district. The district covers an area of 122 square kilometers and is divided into 14 sub-districts and 201 villages and communities. The permanent population is 1.371 million, including 882,800 registered residents.
After the adjustment of administrative divisions, Shangcheng District fully embodies the reintegration of the “West Lake Era” and the “Qiantang River Era,” with the strategic positioning of “One District, Four Centers”: comprehensively building a nationally significant high-end service center, consumption center, entrepreneurship and innovation center, and a center for the inheritance and exhibition of Song Dynasty culture. It strives to become a top-notch, internationally modern urban area and endeavors to lead as the pioneer of high-quality development and construction of a demonstration zone for common prosperity.
Shangcheng District, the seat of the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Government, enjoys exceptional regional advantages. It is bordered by the majestic Qiantang River, renowned for its surging tides, and the picturesque West Lake, famous for its scenic beauty and historic sites. Moreover, the district is traversed by the Grand Canal, which runs from south to north. It is home to key transportation hubs including the Hangzhou East Railway Station, one of Asia’s largest high-speed rail hubs, the Hangzhou Railway Station, a central railway hub in the city, and the largest passenger transportation center in East China. Moreover, landmarks such as the bustling Hubin Pedestrian Street, one of the first nationally recognized pedestrian streets, the scenic Qinghefang Pedestrian Street, designated as a provincial high-quality pedestrian street, the Citizen Center, the Hangzhou International Conference Center, and the Hangzhou Grand Theatre have become prominent symbols of the city’s charm and development.
Shangcheng District has established the development plan of “One Axis, Dual Cores, and Five Stars.” Specifically, it revolves around the 19-kilometer Qiantang River golden riverbank as the main axis, with the Qianjiang New City and the HubinArea as the dual cores. The Five Starsrefertothe Southern Song Imperial City Ruins, the Hangzhou- HongKongHigh-end Service Industry Demonstration Zone, the Genbei New City (East RailwayStation Hub), the Qiantang Smart City, and the JianqiaoDinglan. This plan aims to promote high-quality development in the “1+6” industries, led by the digital economy and encompassing financial services, fashion consumption, professional services, cultural industries, health services, and intelligent manufacturing. In 2023, ShangchengDistrict achieved a GDP of 266.85 billion yuan, a growth of 4.3%. Ofthis total, the value added of the service industry reached 204.65 billion yuan, increasing by 6.4%; fixed asset investment grew by 11.1%; the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 110.7 billion yuan, up by 3.2%; fiscal revenue amounted to 46.08 billion yuan, marking a growth of 13.6%, of which general public budget revenue reaching 24.49 billion yuan, up by 16.3%.
ShangchengDistrict boasts profound historical and cultural heritage, serving as an important site for Southern Song Dynasty culture, Wuyue culture, and Qiantang River culture, as well as the location of the Southern Song Imperial City Ruins. It possesses over half of HangzhouCity’s historical buildings, landmarks, historic blocks, and various levels of cultural heritage sites, including 9 national-level cultural heritage sites. It is here that the first neighborhoodcommittee of the People’s Republic of China, as well as the first party group, first Communist Youth League group, and first labor movement group in Zhejiang Province were established. The Xiaoying Jiangnan Red-Themed Lane received visits from national leaders such as Chairman Mao Zedong and General Secretary Xi Jinping.
The public services in Shangcheng District are of high quality, and grassroots governance has been remarkably effective. Within its jurisdiction are gathered top-tier provincial hospitals such as the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University SchoolofMedicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University SchoolofMedicine, and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital. Renowned provincial schools like Jianlan MiddleSchool, Caihe Experimental Middle School, Chovan Experimental School, and Tianchang Primary School are also situated here. Besides, the district possesses a wealth of resources including various museums, stadiums, parks, etc., all of which are shared among the residents. In recent years, the district has innovated new grassroots governance mechanisms such as “mutual support and coordinated interaction among communities, social organizations and social workers,” “Hubin Barometer” studio,and social organization “Kaiyihui”, created “Beautiful Education,” “Wanwan” disabilitycarecenter, and other exemplary citizen service initiatives. It has explored new grassroots intelligent governance scenarios like “Significant Improvement in Services at Hangzhou East Railway Station” and “Traffic Congestion Mitigation around the First andSecond Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University SchoolofMedicine.” As a result, residents in the district have experienced increasing satisfaction and happiness. The district has consecutively won the provincial-level “Safe District” title for sixteen years, thrice awarded the provincial “Five-Water Governance” outstanding district “Dayu Ding,” and earned honors such as the national “7th Five-Year Plan for Legal Popularization” midterm advanced districtand top rankings in the firstnational business environment assessment.