(3 November 2003; Hong Kong) The North Block of Shanghai Xintiandi, a landmark and an icon of modern Shanghai developed by the Shui On Group, has won the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) 2003 Award for Excellence. Established in 1979 in Washington, DC, the ULI Awards for Excellence programme recognises innovative projects worldwide that exemplify superior design, are economically successful, and improve the quality of the built environment, and is widely seen as the development community's most prestigious recognition. The North Block of Shanghai Xintiandi is the first project located in the Chinese Mainland to receive this international award.

Shanghai Xintiandi is a vibrant leisure and entertainment hub featuring stylish restaurants, bars and boutiques housed in rehabilitated Shikumen architecture in downtown Shanghai. Dating back to the 1860's, Shikumen houses were mostly developed for people taking refuge in Shanghai's foreign concessions and had gradually become a symbol of East meeting West.

"We are honoured that Shanghai Xintiandi has won the esteemed award. Shikumen residences at the peak housed nearly 60 percent of Shanghai's population and have deeply shaped the character of the city and its people. Today, many of Shanghai's old Shikumen neighbourhoods have been ploughed under in the face of modernisation, and we hope that Shanghai Xintiandi will allow visitors to pause and contemplate the city's history amidst its rapid development," said Mr Vincent H.S. Lo, Chairman of Shui On Group.

"The ULI Awards for Excellence is a recognition of the powerful impact of thoughtful urban design. Great urban design involves what goes on outside buildings as well as what goes on inside. It's not about building in a vacuum. It's how the development fits with everything around it. It's about contributing to the greater community," said ULI 2003 Awards for Excellence Jury Chairman Wayne Ratkovich.

Shanghai Xintiandi is at the heart of Shui On's 52-hectare mixed-use Taipingqiao redevelopment project in downtown Shanghai. It is a sublime example of rehabilitation and re-creation that inspiringly employs the spirit of Shikumen neighbourhoods and their architecture to highlight the city's historical past, while placing it progressively in the present. At the outset, it was designed to be a 21st Century gathering place in downtown Shanghai with a cosmopolitan and international ambience.

With a site area of some 14,500 square metres and gross floor area of 21,350 square metres, the North Block of Shanghai Xintiandi successfully merges commercial activities into a scenic urban gathering place that in its short existence has become an adored city showpiece. In the wake of Xintiandi's success, governments and private developers throughout China have become more altruistically civic minded when they look toward urban renewal.

For more information about Shanghai Xintiandi, please visit www.xintiandi.com.


About the ULI Awards for Excellence

The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide responsible leadership in the use of land in order to enhance the total environment. Founded in 1936 in Washington, DC, the Institute has more than 18,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. To make the public more keenly aware of the benefits of superior planning, design, and development, the ULI established the ULI Awards for Excellence in 1979. Awards are based on the following critiera: consistency with ULI's mission; achievement of excellence in all categories-design, construction, finance, economics, marketing and management; contribution to an enhancement in the quality of community life; ability to serve as an extraordinary example of private interests and public agencies working together to achieve a noble result; and worthiness of emulation.


About Shui On Group

The Shui On Group, developer of Shanghai Xintiandi, was founded in Hong Kong in 1971 by Mr Vincent H.S. Lo. Through the years Shui On has been built from a small construction company into a diversified group engaged in property development and investment, construction and contracting, and construction materials, with interests in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and North America.

Shui On Construction and Materials Limited (SOCAM), a member of the Shui On Group, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1997. The Group also has a separate, non-listed property arm with investments in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Beijing, Guangzhou and New York.