Blueprint Decided for Construction of Greater Beijing Region

Ministry of Construction Thursday approved the "Research of Urban and Rural Space Development and Planning in Beijing, Tianjin and North Hebei Province". It is the first time for China to conduct regional planning program.

The research will hopefully alter the inharmonious situation in the development of Beijing, Tianjin and north Hebei Province during the long time past and clearly define the target for the construction of "international metropolis".

The Greater Beijing Region refers mainly to the two gores under the administration of Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Baoding and Langfang, namely, Jingjintang and Jingjinbao regions. Covering an area of nearly 70,000 square kilometers, it includes many large and medium cities in north China. Among these cities, Beijing and Tianjin have in their possession the most intensive resources of intellectuals.

The research has fixed the basic conception for planning the Greater Beijing Region. As proposed it takes Beijing and Tianjin, the two core cities as the axis and Tangshan and Baoding as two wings to release the pressure on large cities, adjust industrial layout, develop medium cities, and increase city density for a combined city construction of the Greater Beijing Region. In line with the plan, it is to make Beijing and Tianjin share out the traffic pressure and help each other so as to realize the transition from the regional transportation network of a "single-center radiation system" to a "dual-core network". According to the research, the cities will be developed in the way of a cluster style along the regional traffic axis, connected by ecological greenbelts. An effective system of regional harmonization will be set up to regulate the original urban planning in the light of regional coordination so as to jointly promote the strategy of constructing international cities.

Scientists also proposed to join up Beijing, Tianjin and Tangshan by maglev vehicles so as to shorten the traffic to within 20 to 30 minutes. In this way, it is to practically protect Beijing, the historical and cultural city, build the northwest of Beijing into a national historical and cultural park, thereby protecting the natural environment and ecological system here.



By PD Online Staff Du Minghua


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