2018年CRI From Slush Alley to Financial District（在线收听）

A narrow and shabby alley called Lan-Ni-Du has been recreated at the "Exhibition of Pudong New Area's Development and Opening-Up" in Shanghai. 

In Chinese, "Lan-Ni" means slush and "Du" means ferry. The name paints a mental picture of the original location being a riverside alley of dirt and mud. 

Looking along the alley, you could see the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower, the tallest landmark in Pudong in the early 1990s.

Decades ago, there was a popular saying in Shanghai: "I'd rather have a bed in Puxi than a room in Pudong." 

Compared to Puxi, the west bank of Shanghai's Huangpu River, the Pudong area on the river's east bank was an unattractive suburb devoid of department stores or high-rise buildings. 

But the area underwent a massive turnaround after 1990 when it was made a national development area.

In this new chapter of the Shanghai's development, the place where Lan-Ni-Du alley was located has become part of Lujiazui, Shanghai's new financial district. It's now world famous for its forest of skyscrapers, including the 632-meter-tall Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China. 

The creation of "China's Wall Street" in Lujiazui, along with Zhangjiang High Tech Park, and the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, has turned Pudong into a premier destination for investors and innovative talent.