“Our Water: Flowing from Shanghai—Intercultural Dialogues among World Cities” and the Shanghai Forum was held at the former site of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce on November 18. The event marked the Shanghai launch ceremony of the second season of the series when “Our Water” has returned from the River Thames in London to the riverfronts of Shanghai. Lou Yongqi, President of SUES and Honorary Doctor of the Royal College of Art, delivered a keynote speech titled “Human-Nature Engagement Design for the Web of Life”.
Guided by the Information Office of Shanghai Municipal Government, the Shanghai Session is hosted by Shanghai United Media Group and Shanghai Association for the Promotion of International Cultural Exchange, and organized by The Paper and Suhewan Group. The program received support from the Office of the Financial Committee Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC (Shanghai International Financial Center Development Office), Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban‑Rural Development (the Office of One River and One Creek of Shanghai Municipality), Shanghai Local Chronicles Office, and Jing’an District People’s Government.
The opening event was attended by over 200 Chinese and international guests, including Matt Burney, British Consul-General in Shanghai; Sohail Shaikh, Consul at the British Consulate-General in Shanghai; Bill Addy, CEO of Liverpool BID Company; Bertrand Régnier, Magnolia Award honoree and Global Head of EY France; Aldo Cibic, Magnolia Memorial Award recipient and Honorary Professor at Tongji University; Julia Solodova, Secretary-General of the Global Business District Innovation Club; celebrated writer and documentary filmmaker Chen Danyan; and cultural and financial commentator Qin Shuo.
Fu Jun, Standing Member of Shanghai Jing’an District Committee of CPC and Executive deputy leader of Shanghai Jing’an District People’s Government, noted that Our Water is more than a series of dialogues: it has generated investment projects, fostered innovation, and revitalized waterfronts through cultural exchange. British Consul-General Matt Burney indicated that Shanghai is home to many a British-style architecture and that two-thirds of British companies headquartered in China have chosen Shanghai, making it a model of Sino-Anglo collaboration. Guests present jointly launched the Season II Shanghai Session, with the theme “Open Waterfronts: Convergence, Co-creation, and Sharing”.
Gathering Momentum: “Our Water” Front Moves Towards an Innovation Hub
As one of the landmark achievements of the first two seasons of “Our Water”, the Jing’an CBD which includes the Suhewan and West Nanjing Road districts, officially joined the Global Business District Innovation Club (GBD). Julia Solodova, Secretary-General of GBD, presented the certification to Ding Baoding, Chairman of the CPPCC Jing’an District Committee. The Jing’an CBD will now participate in innovation-focused exchanges and cooperation with more than a dozen leading global business districts across Europe, America, Asia, and Africa.
Shanghai’s Jing’an CBD has been welcomed as a new member of the GBD. Congratulations and welcomes were extended by Pierre-Yves Guice, Former Chair of the GBD and CEO of Paris La Défense, who participated in the first Our Water Paris Forum in 2024; Michael Edwards, CEO of Chicago Loop Alliance; Bill Addy, CEO of Liverpool BID Company; Youssef Hayat, Marketing Director of Casablanca Finance City; and Chen Dai, the current Chair of the GBD and Deputy Head of Beijing's Chaoyang District.
Urban waterfronts are evolving from static urban landmarks into generators of sustained economic value and emotional connection. As Shanghai enters its “15th Five-Year Plan” period, key questions emerge: How can riverfronts help Chinese companies as they boom overseas? For international firms entering China, what makes riverfronts an ideal gateway? These topics were explored during the panel “Waterfront Innovation Arena: Global Innovation Chains and Outbound Strategies” featuring Qin Shuo, prominent journalist and founder of “Qin Shuo’s Friend Circle”, Consul Sohail Shaikh, Bill Addy, Liverpool BID CEO, Pang Yaodong LABELHOOD CEO, Senior Vice President Mei Yunxuan of Kayou Group and Li Chaoying, Partner at Han Kun Law Offices.
Co-creation: Launch of “100 Tides of Our Water” to Advance Exchange
“The 100 Tides of Our Water: Global Waterfront Innovation Case Collection” was jointly launched by Zhao Yongjian, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Financial Work Committee, Hong Jiliang, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Development Administration, and Yang Jian, Vice President of Shanghai United Media Group as well as CPC Secretary and Chairman of The Paper. The initiative aims to expand the Our Water network by promoting dialogue and mutual learning among global waterfront stakeholders. Focusing on ecological resilience, climate response, and coordinated cultural–economic development, Our Water 100 seeks to identify and promote replicable and scalable innovative practices, transforming waterfronts into sustainable and accessible urban interfaces.
From London’s vision to make the Thames swimmable within ten years to Paris showcasing the Seine River during the Olympics, to Shanghai’s Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek hosting major events, waterfronts worldwide are becoming focal points of renewed urban vitality. Global waterfront revival is shifting from “spatial redevelopment” to “content-driven empowerment”. In the panel “Youth and Waterfront Vitality Open Source”, participants included Zhao Bingbing, Chief Representative for Greater China of London & Partners and the World Cities Culture Forum, Magnolia Award honoree Bertrand Régnier, celebrated writer Chen Danyan, Qu Wei, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Banking (Green Finance Center) at SPD Bank, Guan Chenghe, Co-founding Director of the Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Design and Urban Science and Research Scientist at NYU Shanghai, and Zhou Yu, Head and Senior Director of International Residential Sales at Savills China.
Stories Unite Shanghai and London, Arts Surge on the Waterfront
Season Two of the documentary series Waterside People, titled Rose, officially kicks off filming. Shanghai and London may be separated by more than nine thousand kilometers, yet countless stories weave the two cities together through rose-related products, historical encounters, artworks, logistics, Sino-Anglo cooperation, and innovative cultivars. The rose symbolizes romance and reflects the shared optimism and love for life in both cities. The filming ceremony was jointly launched by Xiao Yeying, Member of the Standing Committee and Head of the Publicity Department of Jing’an District, Liu Yonggang, President and Editor-in-Chief of The Paper, Hu Yonghong, Executive Director of Chenshan Botanical Garden; Yan Wei, Director of Shanghai Botanical Garden, and writer Chen Danyan.
The “One River, One Creek” Atlas Exhibition, held concurrently at the former site of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, showcased the transformation of Shanghai’s waterfronts, from “industrial rust belts” to “lifestyle waterfronts” and “development corridors” , drawing from Shanghai Atlas: Huangpu River and Shanghai Atlas: Suzhou Creek.
The Shanghai Session also featured a rich array of cultural events, including the Our Water Concert, the Shanghai edition of the “Codes of Tides” Multimedia Exhibition; the Shanghai×London “Poetry on the Metro” twin-city program, the special exhibition “Across Time and Space: The Oriental Charm in the Artwork of 19th Century British Architects”, and the release of “Our Water: Shanghai×London”. Through cultural and artistic expression, these activities create an accessible and engaging waterfront narrative.
