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This article reports that twenty-five miles northwest of skyscraper-congested downtown, Shanghai's suburban district of Qingpu is like the often-ignored older cousin of the metropolis's more glamorous and wealthier districts. Qingpu is more famous for its natural waterways, which have been used as a mode of transportation for centuries. But city planners and architects are moving beyond developing China's population-heavy metropolises and looking outward as development enters a new phase, driven by the country's economic boom. Qingpu differs from the run-of-the-mill Chinese suburb, which usually consists of shoddy buildings with white-tile exteriors and utilitarian cement homes, thanks to its natural beauty, its proximity to the heart of China's wealthiest city, and its vice district chief, Jiwei Sun. INSET: A CONVERSATION WITH JIWEI SUN.

A setback for advocates of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, in China, occurred on March 9 when a Hong Kong court ruled that the region's government can proceed on a landfill project that will reduce the size of the harbor to ease traffic congestion. The Hong Kong skyline is known for its picturesque harbor, a natural symbol of the city's beauty, and in stark contrast to its crowded urban grid of skyscrapers and elevated roadways. In recent years, harbor protectionists and city planners have had an acrimonious relationship. The harbor has slowly been reduced to about half of its original size as the government continues to fill in the waterway for public works and lucrative developments, claims the Society for the Protection of the Harbour, a nonprofit organization, which was the plaintiff in the lawsuit.