Shanghai hosts new charity park

Gathering NGOs into same area allows mutual support, collaboration and exchange of information.

A newly opened office park in Shanghai for NGOs and social enterprises is designed to improve the city's social welfare services while boosting the public's enthusiasm for charitable giving.

Covering an area of 23,000 square meters, Gongyi Xin-tiandi, or New Charity World, is expected to become a focal point for innovative charitable projects, according to Chen Jie, communication manager for Non-Profit Incubator, an NGO whose mission is to provide critical support for newly established NGOs and social enterprises.

It initiated the project together with the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

The park's location, No 105 West Puyu road, is tied to philanthropy. In the 1920s it was the largest asylum for orphans, the disabled and underprivisleged people in East Asia.

Later, in the 1950s, it was transformed into the Shanghai Children Welfare Center, which shelters disabled and homeless children.

Some 50 million yuan ($8.2 million) was invested by the municipal government to transform the place into a park with a combination of classical two-story architecture and high buildings, all with modern equipment, according to NPI.

"It's easier to attract the public's attention - and to gather the resources we need - when a lot of NGOs and social enterprises gather in one place," Chen said.