Green boulevards continue to flourish in Shanghai

The Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau announced a plan on Tuesday to designate 22 more roads as green boulevards, bringing the total to 264.

The list of green boulevards includes Gaoyou Road in Xuhui District, Xiangshan Road in Huangpu District, and a section of Honggu Road between Beihong and Linquan roads in Changning District.

The 22 new boulevards feature tree species such as plane, camphor, goldenrain, beech and dawn redwood.

The city began designating boulevards in 2011. The 22 streets will bring the boulevards' collective length to more than 258 kilometers, according to the bureau.

To be designated a boulevard, a street must be at least 500 meters long with more than 90 percent green coverage over both sidewalks and non-motorized vehicle lanes.

Boulevards provide ideal shelter against the sun and a cooler environment.

The city's boulevards have a greater range of tree varieties than non-boulevards, such as cherry blossoms, providing beautiful spring and autumn landscapes.

There are more than 10 boulevard clusters, including parts of Hengshan Road and Ruijin No. 2 Road.

The bureau has upgraded its management of the boulevards to ensure sound development, such as more trimming, pest and disease control, and fertilizing.