The construction site for the new campus of East China Normal University’s Second Affiliated High School in Putuo District is partly topped out recently.

The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, with the first intake of students in September 2026.

The campus is a model high school under the China Ministry of Education. It will feature facilities for teaching, offices, students’ boarding, a theater and a comprehensive sports hall.

A standout feature is its “sky playground,” which is supported by large steel columns and beams, and elevated to a height of 10.2 meters.

“The construction of this suspended 400-meter-long track presented significant challenges, particularly when we were lifting the large components, some spanning 32 meters and weighing 22 tons,” said Shen Jian, an engineer with Shanghai Construction Group.

The space beneath the sky playground will house various sports facilities such as badminton, basketball and swimming venues, along with parking lot.

Vertical connections will integrate it with other public spaces on campus so as to create a harmonious environment for sports and leisure.

“This project employs prefabricated composite slabs,” said Shen Qianhao, another engineer.  “Traditionally, roughness detection of these prefabricated components relied on manual inspection, which was inefficient and prone to errors.”

“Now, the project is piloting an intelligent inspection system using digital twin technology. The system uses imaging equipment and combines deep learning with photogrammetry to create high-precision digital models of the components,” the engineer added.

The new campus project, initiated in 2022, is a key part of Putuo District’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for basic education infrastructure construction.