Splash of green helps new town take shape

Work on an 8-km-long riverside forest park in eastern Beijing's fast-developing Tongzhou district is 60 percent complete and the green space will open to the public later this year, say officials.

The park, which will extend along either side of the Jinghang (Beijing-Hangzhou) Great Canal, will comprise 713 hectares of land.

The Beijing municipal development and reform commission says the space will be the first park of its kind in the capital and be accessible for free.