Decades ago, overlooking Shanghai, the entrances and exits of the Yangtze River were dotted with factories such as shipbuilding, instrument power generation, and steel smelting that supported the economic context of urban development. Now, if you open the map of Shanghai again, you will find old factories, old warehouses, etc. Industrial relics have quietly transformed into cultural landmarks of urban creativity. From the former "No. 1 Slaughterhouse in the Far East" transformed into the 1933 old yard where popular movie scenes were set, to the Yangpu Riverside Park transformed from a century-old power plant, Shanghai has too many urban landscapes transformed and upgraded in the new era.

As a four-year-old male mother, it is my pleasure to constantly explore fun and interesting parent-child places. As Yuan Bao grows up, my focus has shifted from pure fun to the best combination of certain knowledge and experience. Recently, I have discovered a treasure attraction that is very suitable for taking children to in-depth experience-Maikejiang Cultural and Creative Park. It not only has the lively and playful nature of a children's playground, but also allows you to experience hand-made work by yourself, and is full of imagination. We walked around it all day with Yuanbao, immersed in a world of creativity and feelings, and spent a different and happy and fulfilling weekend.

01The transformation of the old factory: creativity and emotion coexist

Yes, the predecessor of Michael Jiang Cultural and Creative Park was a textile factory that made home wear. Speaking of which, the time can be traced back to 1977, when the home wear brand "Michael Jiang" composed of the names of the founders Michael and John was born. In 1992, the factory headquarters was moved to Qibao, Minhang, Shanghai. In 2007, with the factory moved by Michael to other provinces, the old factory that originally covered an area of more than 20,000 square meters was emptied.

So the person in charge of Michael invested in the cultural and creative industry in 2012. After several years of careful polishing, Michael's Cultural and Creative Park reappeared in front of the world after the changes in 2017.

Nowadays, when we walk in the Cultural and Creative Park, whether it is the sewing machines placed in the grass or the circular knitting machines on the booth, etc., we can still encounter many elements of the original textile factory. To a certain extent, they retain Michael's past. History, under the decoration of creativity, has become a highlight decoration in the new era, glowing with vitality.

Looking at the entire Michael Jiang Cultural and Creative Park, there are many retro and literary places.

Whether it is an old house with a redesigned facade, or a cartoon and playful house number, a market full of ethnic customs.

Exquisite and elegant or bizarre special decorations, etc., are all filled with the ingenuity of the craftsman, presenting a diverse and creative emotional space, which is amazing.

Many young men and women regard Michael's Cultural and Creative Park as a new check-in resort, either leaning against a simple industrial white wall, or strolling among the toy dolls outdoors of Babu Bean, or walking in the white steel world. Walk through the world, or quietly wait for the plane to fly between the buildings and greenery above him...

02Dream Magic Space: Trading Time for Joy

Maikejiang Cultural and Creative Park is the first cultural and creative park in China with the theme of hand-made experience combined with industrial design. More than 30 cultural and creative craftsman brands have settled in, such as Carton King, a local cultural and creative business card representative from Taiwan, and a century-old woodworking culture brand Qingmutang, wooden gift original workshop Qingmugong Workshop, etc., the content covers paper creativity, glass firing, pottery and colored clay making, and carpentry craftsmanship...

Like a cultural and creative expo, it is dazzling and dazzling. Those exquisite handicrafts all carry the ideals and persistence of craftsmen. They are willing to spend decades focusing on deep cultivation in their own fields, endure loneliness, and pursue the fast-paced moment is particularly valuable.

These exquisite handworks are not to be put aside for people to admire, but can be experienced and felt for themselves. We specially selected several handworks that match Yuan Bao's age for intimate contact and experience.

The first stop is a handicraft workshop featuring pottery art. Children can personally experience the hand-drawn blank of pottery art, and a professional teacher can teach hand-on to complete a preliminary work.

On the occasion of returning to his hometown in Jingdezhen during the May Day holiday, he specially brought Yuan Bao to experience the process of making pottery in the thousand-year-old porcelain. Unfortunately, although the ceramics in his hometown are famous, the pottery workshop below is disappointing. The environment is rough and there is no teaching. In contrast, Tao Beibei Creation Workshop is simply too friendly to beginner children like Yuan Bao who have no foundation at all.

The young man who taught the class was very patient. He put a special apron on Yuanbao, washed his hands first, and then started one-on-one teaching with hand-drawn blanks. The language was simple, vivid, and easy to understand. Under the guidance of the teacher, Yuanbao could also make a round shape. After the experience, Yuanbao was also taken to wash his hands carefully. In short, the whole process, whether it was for Yuanbao or our parents, was like a spring breeze.

The second stop is the Jiamu Art Workshop. It originally started out with furniture, and later established the Aoki Workshop, which makes gifts. The building it is located in is the old factory where Michael Jiang used to be. The display rack for cultural and creative products is the large knitting machine left behind by the original Michael Jiang factory and the frame retained after small parts were removed. It has become the most story "booth" in the Cultural and Creative Park.

The bicycle on the side was not a specially bought retro decoration, but a genuine "truck" used by the boss at that time for delivery since 1992.

Most of the cultural and creative gifts of Aoki Workshop are made from scraps used to make furniture. A piece of wood is brought into play to be both environmentally friendly and creative. Whether it is toys, bookmarks, or jewelry, they all have wood elements.

You can experience making a wooden rose by yourself on the spot. With a teacher teaching you by hand, Yuan Bao and Michael turned the little sister they met in the Cultural and Creative Garden into two little students. Of course, due to their young age, the fine movements of their fingers could not properly complete the production of wooden rose petals, but the two children still truly perceived another possibility of wood on the spot.

The third stop is a small market shop called Ayouyi. The person in charge, Teacher Cai, has been engaged in clay sculpture creation and teaching for more than 20 years. He has a unique enthusiasm.

The clay figurine is humorous and playful, and keeps up with the current trend. Whether it is the terracotta warriors or the demon boy Nezha from last year's fire, they are all lifelike.

It is not difficult to see Teacher Cai's love for clay sculpture in his speech. He spoke eloquently and his words were meaningful, and we seemed to have taken a vivid clay sculpture lesson.

The fourth stop is a glass workshop. The founder, Mr. Gao, has led the team in continuous research and development for more than ten years. The flower glass craft pens they developed and produced have won many awards. They are not only exquisite in shape, but also practical.

The production room of the glass factory is open, allowing you to see the entire process of firing glass crafts. Because the instantaneous temperature of glass making can reach more than 1,000 degrees, you must be very careful when making it.

Therefore, he only allowed Yuan Bao to observe on the spot. He was surprised by the fire of glass firing. Teacher Gao, who looked calmly and freely, seemed to be watching a magic blacksmith.

03The only paper you can't imagine: the world of Tianma stars

How about Michael's favorite place for children in Cultural and Creative Park? Carton King must have a name. The Carton King, formerly known as Jintang Paper Products, did not sink into the decline of using paper due to the development of science and technology. Instead, he took the opportunity to think about transformation and give full play to the creativity of paper. Every visitor who comes to Carton King must be convinced of their Solgan: "Paper" There is something you can't imagine, there is nothing we can't do!

Paper hats, paper trojans, paper beds, paper post offices... everything here is made of paper. There is even the only paper train in Shanghai, and it is also the Internet celebrity train that friends big and small come to check in. It is real. You can drive it.

The whole train takes about 7 minutes, making full use of every corner of the outdoor garden to perfectly connect the outdoor and indoor landscapes of Carton King.

The first stop passes through "Money Now", the second stop is "Swiss Cottage", the third stop is "Rose Tunnel", the fourth stop is "Paper Hot Pot Restaurant"; the fifth stop is "Forest Adventure", and the final stop is "Paper Star Sky".

Yuan Bao loves the paper train to the extreme. He has sat back and forth about three times, but he is still reluctant to part with it.

In addition to the Internet celebrity paper train, Carton King's large slide is also very popular among children. Basically, laughter continues all day long, complementing the rumbling sound of the small train.

Carton King also has a very distinctive paper restaurant, which is made of paper dining tables and dining chairs. The chairs can bear a weight of 300 kilograms. There is also a box made of paper "Peace Hotel".

Paper hot pot is a unique restaurant. It has a world patent, breaking the traditional perception that paper and fire are incompatible. It can be burned at 250 degrees on an open fire and will not be damaged. It is also an environmentally friendly material that can be recycled. Many children look at it while eating. Paper hot pot is stunned.

Of course, in one day, we couldn't experience the characteristics of Michael's Cultural and Creative Park one by one. There were many interesting small shops and handicraft shops worth coming back. Yuan Bao made good friends here and experienced and felt it with his own hands. I felt the interesting and charming aspects of hand-made work. Although the things made by hand are not perfect, compared with the standard products on the assembly line, they have a different memory temperature.

For us adults, it is not only a rare parent-child time, but also a blind spot in knowledge to a certain extent. Seeing the persistence of craftsmen directly up close and the love in their eyes must have also infected and influenced the people around us. I think this was the purpose of many teachers specially taking children to Maikejiang Cultural and Creative Park for research that day. The belief to focus on doing one thing well is valuable. Our life, Need a passionate persistence and persistence.