CHINA DAILY SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2010 chengduspecial 15 Wenjiang: Model of ‘better city, better life’

By ZHAO SHIJUN BC-221 BC) is the nation’s greatest ancient water control With the theme “Better City, and irrigation system, and one Better Life”, the 2010 Shanghai that still works today World Expo opens today in e is still a shining Shanghai. example of good living and Posters with the slogan are business environment as a everywhere, so Expo visitors result of well-positioned plans might ask the obvious ques- by local authorities for urban tion —“where are the better construction and economic cities in China that offer a development. better life?” While most Chinese cities, The list might be not very especially western cities, are long, but , capital of attracting investors to launch southwest China’s big manufacturing projects, province, is no doubt near Wenjiang chose a different the top. path. Situated at the heart of As the district covers only the Sichuan Basin — widely 277 sq km, authorities didn’t known as “the land of plenty” think it has enough space to — Chengdu’s quality of life was host big production facilities. recognized by the UN when it Manufacturing projects also was placed in the organization’s inevitably cause pollution, so Habitat Scroll of Honor in planners turned their sights to 1998. the service industry to augment The city is heading toward traditionally prosperous modernization at a steady pace agriculture. and in a composed manner, And the approach to allowing its people to benefit agriculture is totally different from the material gains in a from decades ago. Planners sustainable, growing economy don’t want to develop grain- while enjoying the fruits of intensive production on such a millennia-old civilization a small piece of land, so they and well-preserved natural decided to grow specific environment. varieties such as flowers and vegetables to meet the A role model demand of Chengdu and other Wenjiang district, a newly neighboring big cities. urbanized area west of The district now has more Rivers and trees are key elements in Wenjiang’s urban design that create a better environment and give the city a sense of life. LU LINGLONG / FOR CHINA DAILY downtown Chengdu, is now than 8,000 hectares of flower seen by locals as a model of farms, about one-third of to build a modern city area downtown Chengdu. how to create a better life for Sichuan’s total. sustaining its original rural Most of the residential residents. Quality, rather than beauty, in what authorities call communities in Wenjiang are With an area of only 277 sq quantity, is emphasized, with urban-rural integration. built along four major rivers, km, a population of 338,400 “organic and pollution-free” Just as major parts of the with their banks covered with and a gross domestic product the buzzwords. urban area are developed from evergreen trees and grass. of 17.1 billion yuan in 2009, the countryside, many urban Another feature of the district Wenjiang’s administrators Living environment residents are former farmers is that most of the residences are not keen to promote As with many areas in who have a special love of the have been built according to themselves with just surging China, Wenjiang district is in nature and are nostalgic about the traditional style of the area statistical figures. an inevitable process of rapid the rural lifestyle. — two or three-story buildings Authorities and residents urbanization. Flowing rivers, trees, flowers with white walls and grey roof want the district to be a harmo- In 1985, the urban area of and grass are key elements that tiles, with rivers and farmlands nious combination of prosper- Wenjiang was less than 2 sq the authorities want to highlight within eyesight. ity and serenity, modernity and km, with about 30 streets. Last in their urban planning. In addition to urban ancient heritage. year, the urban area reached e urban area is surrounded planning, the authorities Wenjiang has a long history. 28.6 sq km, with more than by about 8,000 hectares of have also made great efforts Recent archaeological discov- 150 streets and 173,000 resi- flower farms, which enrich to improve the environment, eries show it was the capital of dents. the color of the city all four especially in controlling air and the ancient Shu Kingdom some Yet avoiding problems seasons. water pollution and planting 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. from rapid urbanization such According ancient fengshui trees and grasses. Agriculture has flourished as a worsening ecology and — which literally means wind More than 91 percent of the in the area for more than deteriorating living conditions and water — lakes and rivers city’s sewage is treated before it 2,000 years, making it one is a top concern of the local are the soul of a residence or flows to the rivers, with the rate of the best places to live in government. a city. expected to rise. China throughout its history. The authorities have And people in Wenjiang are In addition, 42.25 percent of e nearby Dam borrowed ancient concepts proud that they are at the upper the urban area is covered by built at the upper reaches of in mapping out the urban part of fengshui, with wind and trees and grasses, for a per capi- LU LINGLONG / FOR CHINA DAILY the Minjiang River during the development plan. water from the mountains in its tal green space of 21.6 sq m. Many of the residences in the area are built in traditional style — two or three-story with white Warring States Period (475 The focus of the plan is northwest passing southeast to walls and grey roof tiles. Service industries set to shine

By BIAN JI Wenjiang and Qionglai — will ang’s administration center. The biggest project in offer a quick link between the • The Sichuan Cultural the zone is Guosetianxiang Various levels of govern- district, downtown Chengdu Industry Zone will highlight Amusement Park that broke ments in regions of China oen and neighboring cities. businesses as such as muse- ground on April 1. With a view globalization and invest- While the eight zones are ums, performances, television total investment of 5 billion ment as key to progress under construction or still in production and animation. yuan, it will be the largest Wenjiang, a district in the planning stage, a number of * e Jinma Sports Town is aquatic amusement park in Chengdu, is no exception, but domestic and overseas business planned to be built in eight to Asia. When complete in three authorities have declined to have already signed deals with 10 years. A zone featuring sports years, it is projected to receive follow the path of many other the local government. and leisure tours, it is expected more than 25 million visitors areas by bringing in projects On December 20, Qiaobo to attract about 7 million tour- annually. that might harm the environ- Snow and Ice World, a com- ists, offer jobs for 30,000 to • e Modern Agricultural ment. pany founded by Ye Qiaobo 50,000 locals and generate rev- Zone is both an organic agri- e message the local gov- — China’s first Winter Olym- enues of 5 billion yuan annually culture production base and ernment is conveying to inves- pics champion — signed up to upon completion. agriculture-related sightseeing tors is that the service industry, build western China’s largest • e Chengdu International area. not manufacturing, is the key. indoor skating facility in Jinma Medical Industry Park is a • The Hesheng Education Modern services including Sports Town. combination of hospitals and Zone is a development focus- information consultation, On December 28, Beijing- medical R&D facilities. ing on vocational training. A sports, healthcare, ecological base CapitalBio Corp, a bio- • The planned 100 sq km number of vocational schools tourism, cultural creativity medicine company, agreed International Countryside in Sichuan have already agreed and logistics are helping drive to build a 150 million yuan Tour Zone is the largest tour- to open branches in the new the local economy. R&D facility in the Chengdu ism development in Wenjiang. zone. Services are expected to International Medical Indus- become the most important try Park. sector in three to five years, On January 20, representa- accounting for more than tives of US medical group half of local gross domestic United Family Hospitals & product. Clinics visited Wenjiang to To promote the development talk with local authorities of the service industry and about investing in a hospital attract investment, the district in the Chengdu International government plans to invest 60 Medical Industry Park. billion yuan in building eight business zones and parks. Business parks A large part of the invest- • The Science Park is ment will be used in building designed for hi-tech R&D infrastructure. facilities, with many investors A traffic network of roads from Taiwan scheduled to and light rail systems — includ- begin operations. ing the city’s subway , an • e Guanghua Zone is for LUO XUE / FOR CHINA DAILY inter-city railway between high-end residential projects XIANG SHI / FOR CHINA DAILY From top: Tourists treated to the hospitality of locals: enjoying a cup of tea in a rustic setting or Chengdu and Ya’an, and an and office facilities. It is also After billions of yuan in infrastructureinvestment, the district bouquets made by flower farmers. expressway linking Chengdu, planned to be home to Wenji- o�ers an attarctive business climate to investors.