Shanghai to be 'ecological city' surrounded by forests

The city's forest cover will amount to 23 percent by 2035, and it will have more than 30 countryside parks by that time.

A blueprint on Shanghai's ecological space design between 2021 and 2035 was released on Saturday, World Environment Day.

The goal is to create an "ecological city" in gardens, surrounded by forests and featuring blue skies, lucid waters and green spaces.

The "ecological city" will be supported by park, forest and wetland systems as well as greenway and ecological corridor networks.

By 2035, the city's forest coverage will amount to 23 percent compared with 18.49 percent last year. Its per-capita greenery space will reach at least 13 square meters.

It will boast at least 30 countryside parks by that time compared with seven at present.

The length of key greenway will reach at least 2000 kilometers, and the protective rate of wetland will hit over 50 percent.

The Yangtze River Delta Ecology and Greenery Integration Demonstration Zone will be turned into a highland with ecological value and high-quality integrated ecological development. Nine ecological corridors circling areas such as Dazhi River, Jinhui Port and Huangpu River will be constructed.

The Outer Ring green belt will string an array of green land in areas like Dachang, Biyun, Taopu, Sanlin and Beicai. The city has designated two first-tier ecological spaces, the Jiuduansha wetland national nature reserve and Chongming Dongtan national nature reserve, as within its "ecological protection red line."

City-level nature reserves, national forest parks, habitats of wildlife, and some wetlands and hills in the city are also inside the line.

A multi-layer park system comprising national parks, city parks, countryside parks, community-based parks, pocket parks and vertical greenery will be constructed, satisfying residents' diversified leisure, rest and tourism demands.