The mind-numbing traffic jam around downtown People's Square may all but disappear by the end of 2003 when locals will enjoy easy public transport transfer and a new venue to relax.

All this thanks to a face-lift project which started on Saturday. Accordingly, the square, the center of Shanghai, will see 14 buslines removed, the main Xizang Road broadened and a new 7,000-square-meter park built on a site that now hosts a huge TV screen.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Construction and Management Commission, the targeted area for renovation - from Xizang Road Bridge across the Suzhou Creek in the north to Fuxing Road - will cover nearly 10,000 square meters. No cost estimates were provided.

"When the project is completed next year, new construction or renovation projects won't be allowed near the square for the next 10 years," said Chen Yaonan, an official in charge of the project.

According to the blueprint, the square will become a transfer hub for the subway, allowing passengers to transfer between three metro lines - Metro Lines 1 and 2 and the under-construction M8 metro line.

The 23-kilometer M8 metro line - running from Kailu Road in northeastern Yangpu District, across the Huangpu River, to Chengshan Road in Pudong District - will be completed in 2004 with 22 underground stations, Chen Rong of the Shanghai Metro Construction Co. Ltd., disclosed

In addition, Xizang Road, 2.9 kilometers long through the square, will be broadened to 26 meters from the current 20 meters with six lanes.

Several local businesses, including the Jinpin Shopping Center, Dalu Hotel and Hongguang Hospital, as well as 180 families living southeast of the square, will be forced to relocate for the project, officials said.

While the square wasn't built until after 1949, the area has played an important role in Shanghai, dating back to the 1860s, and is a reflection of the city's past decadence and new development.

In 1862, a horse-racing track was built where the square and People's Park now stand. After the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949, however, the track was demolished to make way for the park and the square.

In 1990, the local govern-ment began developing the area into a symbol of Shang-hai's new and evolving econo-mic might. It is now home to the Grand Theater, the Shang-hai Museum, the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall and the City Hall.

( eastday.com July 22, 2002 )