Chengdu Wins Four Int'l Awards for Fine Environmental ProjectChengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, has won four international awards for an environmental project it has launched in its urban area.All the four awards go to the comprehensive harnessing of the Funan River which runs through downtown Chengdu. The project was completed in 1997. The latest award for the project is the "Local Initiative Award " issued by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Chengdu invested heavily to tackle the Funan River in 1993, and within five years, the city reinforced 16 km of the river course and relocated 100,000 people to new residential areas. At the same time, the city also stopped all the 600 pipelines which discharged waste water into the river, built 320,000 hectares of grassland, a flowing water park, a musical square and other facilities. The project won three medals in 1998 including one from the UN Center for Human Settlement, one for its flowing water park from an international organization, and a design award from the International Environmental Design Research Association. The UN Development Program and the UN Center for Human Settlement have regarded the project as a good example for big cities in the world to follow. The Funan River has been a city moat for Chengdu for 2,200 years. |
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