Music, drama, food to suit all tastes at innovation park
2023-05-26
Popular band French Chanson will perform authentic French gypsy jazz at Changyang Campus on Friday night.
Outdoor drama, concerts, workshops and other cultural activities will be held on the lawn of the Changyang Campus innovation park during a food and art festival that begins on Friday.
The performances and activities, all free of charge, aim to enrich the cultural life for office workers at the innovation park and nearby residents in Yangpu District, according to the organizer.
The landmark park, which was renovated from the old Donghua cotton mill built in 1920, is home to more than 300 startup firms, including leading tech companies, such as the popular mobilized digital platforms Xiaohongshu, Dewu and linguistic teaching app Liulishuo. The employees working at the park are about 27 years old on average.
The park aims to develop its central lawn, covering over 7,000 square meters, equivalent to a standard football pitch, into a "backyard garden" for people to relax, socialize and draw inspiration, according to the operator of the park.
Food and drama will be the focus of the festival. Coffee and wines will be served on the lawn when the popular band French Chanson performs authentic French gypsy jazz on Friday night.
Playback Theatre-style performance will be staged at Changyang Campus during the festival.
Alice Roche, the band's lead vocalist and an online celebrity with over 500,000 fans, is popular among domestic followers for translating many classic Chinese songs into French.
A workshop on May 28 and June 4 will teach children how to turn various fruits into characteristic musical instruments.
Playback Theatre, a form of improvisational theater coined in the United States in the 1970s in which audience members tell stories from their lives and watch them enacted on the spot, will be held in the multifunctional hall near the lawn on June 2. Locals are encouraged to share their stories and memories about tastes and smells.
The lawn, named Lohas Campus, has been renovated to remove the shrubs and expand the pedestrian paths to make it more accessible.
The former cotton mill, built by Japanese businessmen in 1920, was bought by the China cotton mill machine manufacturing company before it closed around 2000.
It was renovated into the innovation park in 2014, and in 2018 former Premier Li Keqiang suggested that the Changyang Campus become an international innovation hub.
The central lawn of the campus has become a public activity center for employees and residents.
Changyang Campus Food and Art Festival
Date: May 26-June 10
Admission: Free
Venue: Changyang Campus
Address: 1687 Changyang Road, Yangpu District
杨浦区长阳路1687号
Source: City News Service
