As one of the birthplaces of modern industry in China, Yangpu Riverside has witnessed the birth of more than ten "national industrial superlatives", including China's first modern water plant, the largest thermal power plant in the Far East, and the largest gas plant in the Far East. It has precipitated the urban texture of the "world's largest remaining waterfront industrial belt" and is a key development area in Shanghai's "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan" for the development of the city.

Established in the 19th and 20th centuries, more than 300 factories such as the Shanghai Machinery Paper Bureau, Yangshupu Power Plant, and Ruirong Shipyard witnessed the rise of modern industry in Shanghai. With industrial adjustments, low-carbon transformation, and the conversion of old and new energy sources, this land, which once shone in the history of modern industrial civilization in China, has revitalized urban vitality and rejuvenated the waterfront with new spaces. Yangpu Riverside has become a poetic waterfront where people can enjoy leisure and pleasure.

On the pollution barrier and collision piles outside Yangshupu Water Plant, a 535-meter-long wooden plank bridge has been built, becoming a popular place for leisurely walks. The former tobacco machinery repair warehouse has transformed into the "Air Garden" Green Hill, forming a terraced viewing platform and becoming one of the popular attractions for young people. The former Shanghai 17th Cotton Textile Factory has transformed into the Shanghai International Fashion Center, attracting trendy people. On the site of Xiangtai Wood Shop, the first propaganda platform for the people's urban concept, the Yangpu Riverside People's Urban Construction Planning Exhibition Hall, has been built. Innovation and empowerment continue to play out, preserving the historical style of the original buildings, recording the development process of modern industry in Shanghai and even China, and injecting vitality into urban renewal.

In November 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Yangpu Riverside and put forward the important concept of "people's city built by the people, people's city for the people" for the first time, fully affirming the innovative practice of protecting and utilizing industrial heritage and transforming the "industrial rust belt" into a "live show belt". In January 2024, Shanghai's Yangpu Live Show Belt was awarded the title of the first batch of "National Demonstration Zone for the Protection and Utilization of Cultural Relics". Yangpu Riverside is continuing to write its unique chapter in the long river of history with a brand-new posture.