Last year, Australian architect Robin Edmond took his colleagues from Melbourne on a tour through Shanghai. Instead of visiting the usual tourist hot spots along the Bund, however, the group headed straight for Pudong, Shanghai's gleaming new business district built on former farmland. And rather than doing as most tourists do - gazing up at the colossal Jin Mao, one of the tallest buildings in the world, or visiting the bulbous Pearl Tower, the visitors took in the sights with a critical eye. The purpose behind the trip was not to marvel at Shanghai's towering achievements, after all, or even to absorb lessons in large-scale building design.
In fact, Mr Edmond and his colleagues from the Hassell firm were at that time finalising plans for the design of a new central business district in the city of Ningbo, some 150km away from Shanghai. What he had in mind was an object lesson in 'precisely what we would not do'.
The former treaty port of Ningbo has a long-standing rivalry with Shanghai, embodied most recently in spats between the local governments over their respective market share of incoming port traffic. But according to Peter Duncan, principal architect in Hassell's Shanghai office, the Ningbo government is loath to follow the same development trajectory as its neighbour despite the ongoing competition.
'Although Ningbo wants to establish a strong identity like Shanghai, Ningbo remains very modest in its appearance and size,' Mr Duncan said. The modesty cloaks the city's growing financial clout, as it boasts a per capita monthly income of 1,160 yuan - one of the highest in mainland China.
The city is planning on even more growth after the 2008 completion of the world's longest sea-spanning bridge, a 30km link that will connect Ningbo to Shanghai. In anticipation of a population and economic boom, and increasing strain on the city's existing central business district, the Ningbo Planning Authority held an international consultation in the winter of 2002 for the design of a second business district. In total four firms - from Japan, Germany, China and Australia - presented development schemes to the authority. Hassell, in conjunction with Australian engineering firm Hyder, won the contest with plans for sustainable development and people-friendly buildings.
The international competition builds on growing national attention Ningbo has received in recent years for its dedication to environmental protection and its penchant for cutting-edge architecture. The city won the 2001 Model Green City Award for its efforts to increase industrial efficiency and lower emissions at more than 500 industrial enterprises surrounding Ningbo. And by more than doubling the amount of city space dedicated to green areas, Ningbo now finds itself in the running for the title of China's National Garden City.