When construction began on Caoyang New Village in Shanghai's Putuo district back in 1951, few would have envisaged the community would become so emblematic of China's vision for improving the living conditions of its industrial workers.

The leafy surroundings of Caoyang, with its three-story, red-roofed buildings interspersed by French plane trees, was the first residential compound built entirely for industrial workers after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Opening on International Workers' Day in 1952, the complex provided 1,004 homes for industrial workers and their families complete with running water, electricity and sanitation facilities — which were relatively rare at that time.

In contrast, many industrial workers at that time lived in cramped and unsanitary conditions.

The name Caoyang was inspired by the Chinese for "rising sun", and an aspiration that things will only get better for the community and China's workers in general.