AS part of the ongoing German Culture Week (May 1 to May 14), a three-day-long German lifestyle party was held in Anting New Town from May 4 to 6. The town is a car manufacturing area located about 25 kilometres northwest of central Shanghai, built in German style.

The party featured street performances by artists from both Germany and China, along with exhibitions of German culture, education and architecture on the town's Yayuan foot path. Also along the path, stalls were set up offering German foods such as sausages, cheese and beer to thousands of visitors attending the event.

Anting was the first town developed under the municipality's "one-city, nine-town" urban construction plan. The German architecture company AS&P won the international design competition and was then commissioned by the Shanghai Urban Planning Administration Bureau to compile the master plan for the town.

On an area of approximately 10 square kilometres all central functions of car manufacturing, exhibition, trade, research and development, management and training are being developed, so are a wide range of ancillary facilities for a designed residential population of 30,000.

A variety of community cultural activities aimed at developing a German lifestyle are being organized in the town on a regular basis by the Shanghai International Automobile City Real Estate Co Ltd (SIACRE), the town's developer.

"Now that most of the infrastructure facilities have been put in place, we believe Anting New Town is set to become an important platform promoting German culture and lifestyle in Shanghai and in China at large," said Yu Zhen, an employee with SIACRE who was responsible for organizing the German lifestyle party.

The two-week long German Culture Week, the first ever held in Shanghai, is to extend right to the end of this week, with more exhibitions and performances to be held in central Shanghai. For detailed information please visit its website: www.germanweek-shanghai.de.