Tianfu New Area strikes balance between beauty, convenience

Bold venture launched to create a 'garden city' that focuses on the environment to boost residents' well-being

Tianfu New Area in Chengdu is building a "garden city" where people's livelihoods, urban construction, environment and industrial development can be balanced. The key to the garden city is to adopt new ideas and explore new modes to solve "big city problems" and meet people's expectations for a better future.

The area is putting the well-being of people at the center of its development, weighing the role of villages, economy and ecology during construction, and developing its agriculture, industry and ecology at the same time.

Tianfu Greenway draws ecological outline

Luxi Stream Wisdom Valley Greenway, located on the eastern banks of Xinglong Lake, attracts many visitors, and now features a host of smart benefits. Visitors can check the weather and play mobile games related to the area via the free Wi-Fi provided. The greenway also uses intelligent equipment to check and maintain the quality of its water.

Stretching 115 kilometers, the greenway links mountains, rivers, farmland and fields with sports facilities, theme parks, tourists service centers and bed-and-breakfasts. It provides a space for a vast array of entertainment activities and has upped the area's capacity for new economy-related business.

Many tech companies and institutes are located in the greenway, including the Chengdu science research center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the national Chengdu agricultural industry and technology innovation center, and the Chengdu scientific park of digital tech company Hikvision.

An advanced sewage treatment plant has been built in the new area which treats 50,000 metric tons of sewage each day. The plant has the capacity to treat 100,000 tons. After being treated, the water can be used to clean streets, water plants and more, according to Qiu Wei, deputy director of the public-private partnership projects center at the planning and land resources bureau in Tianfu New Area.

The greenway is just one example of how the area is building itself into a garden city. There is a long-held belief in China that luscious green mountains and crystal clear water will bring people more wealth.

Before construction of the garden city even began, priority was given to ecological protection over industrial development, with an aim of sustainability before profitability.

The old pictures of the area, showing it decorated with flowers and plants, and embraced by lakes and rivers, will return, according to officials.

Pioneering construction continues on "garden city"

The goal for Tianfu New Area to build a beautiful and livable garden city is coming closer to becoming a reality. Many ecological projects, such as the Longquan Mountain forest park, the Baisha Lake, Qingsong Wetland and Yanqi Lake, have completed or are under construction.

"A garden city is not only the combination of garden and city. It needs to answer the question of what kind of city can give people a better life," said Wu Zhiqiang, vice-principal of Tongji University in Shanghai.

Tianfu New Area will merge parks, residential areas and scenic spots, to build a new community model. It will provide more space for culture, sports and entertainment for local people, and encourage them to slow down, enjoy life and get closer to nature.

It will build public service facilities based on the demands of citizens. Modern service and new economy-related industries, such as high-tech service and international exhibition and convention industries, will be promoted.

It plans to explore an efficient way to transform the ecological resources into economic and social return.

More investment will be attracted by the brand of garden city and boost the high-quality development of the regional economy.

The idea of a garden city outlines a new blueprint for the area's future development.

A newly constructed exhibition hall shows the progress made and a timeline for reaching goals, to show the determination of local government.

The area said it hopes to share its experience of city construction with other cities and countries.

(China Daily 04/26/2019 page26)