#The X Tower Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in May)
Art Districts
Night Attractions
Address:
No. 100 Yejiazhai Road, Putuo District, Shanghai
Opening times:
Opens at 8:00-21:00Open
Recommended sightseeing time:
1-2 hours
Phone:
021-62829666,021-55697880
Innovation Tower - An unmissable skyline along the Suzhou River
Innovation Tower is located at No. 100 Yejiazha Road, the former site of the Shanghai Garment Factory, transformed from a century-old historical building on the banks of the Suzhou River.
The original site still houses a three-story warehouse with a lookout tower, covering an area of nearly 10,000 square meters. Built in the early years of the Republic of China by a German designer, it adopted the advanced reinforced concrete frame structure of the time. Different from the previous factory buildings that were mainly Western neoclassical and East India styles, this is one of the earliest modern-style buildings in China.
The bright red color under the tower's round arch ceiling jumps out from the pristine facade, breaking the seriousness brought by the uniform rectangular window bands on the upper and lower walls, and its image has become the symbol of the Innovation Tower park.
Hidden within the park are many popular photo spots, including exquisite antique shops (Xiaofangting Antique Museum, pictures 4-6), restaurants that have been featured in TV dramas, and a must-visit collection of domestic and foreign outstanding niche designers for fashionistas.
Moreover, the park brings together trendy shops such as skateboarding, graffiti (pictures 7-8), and tattooing, offering a trendy and interesting borderless lifestyle and multi-dimensional value experience. All these have gradually made the park a gathering place for trendy fashion.
Today, Innovation Tower has become an urban youth shared business community that integrates work, life, and entertainment, and is also an unmissable skyline along the Suzhou River.
Initially, this was an advanced yarn factory. After the reform and opening up, with industrial upgrading, the factory was relocated, and the building with the lookout tower was used as a large warehouse. The cargo elevators from the early years are still preserved on the east and west sides of the warehouse.
The most attractive spot for tourists in Innovation Tower is the rooftop platform on the 4th floor of Building 1 (pictures 14-17), with wooden floors and potted plants of flowers and vines scattered around, a quiet haven away from the hustle and bustle.
From the rooftop platform, you can overlook Baocheng Bay on both sides of Yejiazha Road (picture 18), which was once the most concentrated area of Shanghai's yarn factories. Inside the bay is the only double-arched pedestrian bridge over the Suzhou River - Baocheng Bridge (pictures 19-20), hence the name Baocheng Bay.
Also, because of the concentration of yarn factories, it was known as 'Yarn Factory Bay'. By the 1920s, the Baocheng Bay area had formed a massive textile enterprise cluster, the cradle and high-density gathering area of China's textile industry, accounting for 20% of the national textile industry, and was Shanghai's most important textile industry concentration area. After liberation, enterprises such as the First, Sixth, and Seventh Cotton Mills formed a textile cluster here.
Time flies, and today's Baocheng Bay has turned into a residential area with high-rise buildings, beautiful campuses, trendy office areas, and popular night markets...
CAMERON BOWERS
Shanghai Weekend | Suzhou River Creative Tower Park Citywalk Check-in Guide
| Suzhou River Creative Tower Park Citywalk Check-in Guide.✅ Near the Wuning Road Bridge by the Suzhou River in Shanghai, there is such a modern art and creative park 🏘, filled with design and creative romantic atmosphere, which is the Creative Tower Cultural and Creative Park.
✅ The Creative Tower Cultural and Creative Park is reconstructed from the old site of the Shanghai Garment Factory established in the early years of the Republic of China 🏗, with its central building being a three-story warehouse watchtower 🗼 with a hundred years of history. After being transformed with modern colors and minimalist style, it presents a unique visual effect.
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🚇Transportation
✅ Take subway lines 7/13 to Changshou Road, or lines 13/14 to Wuning Road, then walk to the destination.
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📸 Check-in Guide
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✅ Baocheng Bridge
🖼 Picture 2
🌟 A small bridge on the Suzhou River that does not allow motor vehicles, from which you can see the modern-colored Creative Tower Building No. 4.
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✅ Creative Tower Building No. 4
🖼 Picture 3
📍 Address: No. 83, Yejiazhuang Road
🌟 A brightly colored building, an office building.
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✅ Watchtower
🖼 Picture 4
📍 Address: No. 100, Yejiazhuang Road
🌟 A warehouse watchtower with a hundred years of history, now transformed into a very modern and creative structure.
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✅ Food Street
🖼 Picture 5
📍 Address: Near No. 100, Yejiazhuang Road
🌟 Underneath the watchtower is an area full of various restaurants! Very convenient for dining.
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✅ Xiangfangxiang Traditional Fragrance
🖼 Picture 6
📍 Address: No. 652, Changshou Road, Building L
🌟 A teahouse with a Chinese style, designed to be very simple and dignified.
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✅ Xiaofangting Western Museum
🖼 Picture 7
📍 Address: No. 652, Changshou Road, International Fashion Education Center, Building K
🌟 An antique shop with a very retro design at the entrance, sometimes a 30 yuan ticket is required.
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✅ Graffiti Street
🖼 Pictures 8, 9
📍 Address: East side of Xiaofangting Western Museum
🌟 This side has a large area of graffiti walls!
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✅ Xiaofangting Western Restaurant
📍 Address: No. 652, Changshou Road, International Fashion Education Center, Building K
🌟 An Italian restaurant next to the museum, located in a small courtyard, like a secret garden, usually requires a reservation in advance.
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✅ Hourglass Coffee Shop
🖼 Pictures 10, 11 above
📍 Address: No. 652, Changshou Road
🌟 A coffee shop at the corner, with a white and simple style.
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✅ Other Check-ins
🖼 Pictures 12-15
🌟 The entire park is filled with an industrial modern minimalist style, and there are not many tourists, highly recommended for a leisurely stroll!