As part of urban renewal, the transformation and upgrading of the Xujiahui commercial area is in full swing. Among them, the construction of an sky corridor connecting major shopping malls in Xujiahui has captured the hearts of many citizens.

As a component of the Xujiahui commercial area, its underground space is already extensively connected. Any of Metro Lines 1, 9, and 11 can provide unobstructed access to most shopping malls including Metro City, Huijin Department Store, and Grand Gateway Plaza. Although the underground space is convenient, it has its "hard flaws": citizens and tourists shuttling through the city cannot see the urban landscape, and the numerous entrances and exits can be confusing for unfamiliar visitors. Coupled with the saturation of the underground space in the Xujiahui commercial area, the construction of the corridor has been put on the agenda.

Li Guorong, full-time deputy director of the Xuhui District Major Projects Office, told reporters that the T20 project in the Xujiahui commercial area has been completed, the original Pacific Digital Plaza Phase II building has been demolished and will soon be rebuilt, Orient Shopping Center has completed its renovation and upgrade, Metro City, Grand Gateway and other malls are also continuously being updated and improved, and the Xujiahui Center (Phase I), which will be put into use in May 2018, has also been completed.

In the future, nearly 10 upgraded shopping malls will surround the area of Hongqiao Road-Zhaojiabang Road and Caoxi North Road-Huashan Road. The corridor will shoulder the mission of connecting these major malls, and Phase I of the corridor, which connects T20 (formerly Xiya Hotel), Metro City, and the rebuilt Pacific Digital Plaza Phase II, has already started construction.

It is reported that Phase I of the Xujiahui Corridor has a total length of about 340 meters, a net width of about 6 meters, a public space area of 3,947 square meters, 6 staircases, and 7 entrances/exits connecting to shops. It is expected to be officially put into use in May 2018. The original Xujiahui footbridge will be retained and will be connected to Phase I of the corridor. Phase II will connect Orient Shopping Center and Grand Gateway Plaza; the project proposal has been completed. Phase III will further extend to Pacific Department Store, Liubai Department Store, and surrounding cultural and leisure plaza facilities, while integrating with the second floor of the Xujiahui Center development project as a whole. The specific planning is still under discussion.

In addition, judging from the currently published renderings, the Xujiahui Corridor is quite different from ordinary footbridges. Shi Min, chief of the Comprehensive Section of the Xuhui District Construction and Transportation Commission, told reporters that the building facade of the project was designed by the famous French architect Jacques Ferrier. The connection between the corridor and the buildings will mainly be embedded to reduce overall damage to the buildings. For the arrangement of greenery, instead of the commonly used flower stands and pot planting on current footbridges and elevated roads, real soil planting will be adopted. At the same time, to reduce the impact on underground space and above-ground main roads, the entire corridor will use as few and thin columns as possible, ensuring safety to the maximum extent while maintaining aesthetics.

The reporter also learned that Phase I of the Xujiahui Footbridge Corridor project is currently implementing related pipeline relocation. In the next stage, it is planned to close some sidewalks in mid-to-late June and begin implementing the remaining pipeline relocation and underground pile foundation construction.