Shanghai 2010 - The Cool Docks
The success of Xin Tian Di has led to other projects trying to copy its formula – some more successful then others. The Cool Docks is one of the more successful ones, though it pales in comparison to the original. The problem here is the scale of the buildings. Unlike Xin Tian Di which is a collection of old Xhikumen houses with narrow alleys and a very intimate scale - making it quite fun to wander around, at the Cool Docks the buildings are much larger. Most of them are 3-storeys high, and some are 4 or 5-storeys. Being part of an old dockyard, they are industrial rather then residential buildings, offering a different kind of feel.
The overall development feels smaller then Xin Tian Di, even though with the taller buildings the floor area could be larger. The buildings wrap around a central plaza which is nicely landscaped, and they even have an old Xhikumen mansion right in the middle. I think this is a replica as it looks a bit out of place among the mostly industrial buildings.
When we were there, the place was a bit empty. It is hard to understand why Xin Tian Di is packed to the breams and here it is so quiet. Maybe not enough of the cool quotient ? Cool Docks is at Zhongsan Nan Lu – not far from The Bund.
The overall development feels smaller then Xin Tian Di, even though with the taller buildings the floor area could be larger. The buildings wrap around a central plaza which is nicely landscaped, and they even have an old Xhikumen mansion right in the middle. I think this is a replica as it looks a bit out of place among the mostly industrial buildings.
When we were there, the place was a bit empty. It is hard to understand why Xin Tian Di is packed to the breams and here it is so quiet. Maybe not enough of the cool quotient ? Cool Docks is at Zhongsan Nan Lu – not far from The Bund.
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