A TRIP to China by eight Dagupan City officials two weeks ago proved to be productive and educational.

Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, currently acting mayor, said the delegation learned a lot during their China trip, especially when they visited Shanghai, one of China’s most urbanized areas and major financial district.

With Fernandez in that trip were Councilors Michael Fernandez, Librada Reyna, Jesus Canto, Danilo Torio, Alfie Fernandez, Alfredo Quinto and Karlos Reyna.

“We cannot be equal to Shanghai, both in area and resources,  but at least we can copy the system that it  adopted, especially in the way it pushed its urban renewal,” said Fernandez, who  stressed  that she spent her personal  funds for that trip.

She noted how Shanghai rebuilt and rehabilitated its old business district instead of abandoning it in favor of a new site as normally resorted by mega-cities around the world.

Fernandez said Dagupan can and should plan to renew and revitalize its old business districts.

“We all know that most of us (businessmen) today started  from the old commercial districts in  the downtown area,” said Fernandez whose family started its business as City Grocery in the downtown area and now owns the CSI Market Square and CSI Main and the CSI the City Mall.

She suggested that the owners of the surviving establishments, with the help of the government, can rebuild or repaint their stores at one time for them to capture their old glorious days.

At the same time, Fernandez pointed out that a big boon to Dagupan is a new business district that was carved out by the construction of the more than four-kilometer Dawel-Pantal-Lucao road.

She said ideal establishments that could be put up on both sides of the new road are vacation resorts to cash in on the potentials of tourism.—LM

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