Beijing Daxing International Airport. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

China's energy use in the building sector accounts for about 40 percent of the country's total energy consumption. Therefore, it is imperative to promote the green building industry.

In recent years, China has made marked progress in continually improving standards for energy saving in construction, increasing the number of green buildings, upgrading heating projects in colder regions, intensifying supervision on energy saving while planning public buildings, advancing energy conservation in renovating schools and hospitals, and expanding the use of renewable materials for construction.

The latest national standards for green buildings, a revised version based on the previous criteria, took into effect in August 2019. They marked that the country's evaluation system on green buildings has generally reached an advanced level.

Currently, most Chinese provinces have established their own standards for green buildings, and more than 80 percent of regions have implemented the measures as necessary. They have granted various incentives, such as financial rewards, loan discounts, and reimbursement of some construction costs, to guarantee thorough implementation.

New technologies also play an essential role in energy conservation. Passive houses, a good practice for heating in northern China in winter, offer a standard for energy efficiency in a building through a design process integrated with architecture.

Pingdu People's Hospital in Pingdu, the satellite city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong province, is the first green hospital in Qingdao. It adopts the ground-source heat pump installations in the heating and cooling systems, and a solar water heating system for the production of hot water. To reduce the excessive consumption of energy resources, the hospital adopts heat preservation walls, daylighting roofs, and a rainwater harvesting system.

The latest standards also place importance on humanistic design. The Daxing International Airport in Beijing, which boasts green-oriented management and green design during construction, has set a global example for green airport construction.

According to an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, renewable energy resources account for about 12 percent of the airport's annual energy consumption, the highest rate among all airports in China.