Park city takes shape with greenbelts and waterways
The green area takes shape along the riverside in Lingang Special Area.
Clear water, fertile soil, a beautiful environment and optimized policies making the Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone a better place for people to live in and for business to operate in.
On the 80-meter-wide greenway along Dishui Lake, people can enjoy jogging and cycling paths, water views, birdsong, flowers and about 100 sculptures made by famous Chinese artists.
The greenway is divided into seven sections covering a total area of 82.3 hectares and a length of about 8 kilometers.
A sculpture depicts a drinking polar bear in the greenbelt of Dishui Lake in Lingang Special Area.
Greenbelts and rivers contribute to a beautiful scene in Lingang Special Area.
A bridge near Shanghai Astronomy Museum is built in the shape of an infinite symbol over a river curving through the public park. The same designer was responsible for the National Olympic Sports Center in Beijing.
There are public parks and gardens everywhere in Lingang. Near Shanghai Astronomy Museum, the public green space with a romantic name – Xingkongzhijing (Starry Sky Illumination) – is also the first national-level sponge city pilot area in Shanghai.
Not only does it have a sponge city function but it is also full of green fields where people can pitch a tent and enjoy the twinkling stars.
The park covers about 575,000 square meters, with sponge technology as its core and artistic terrain characteristics that will reflect the vitality of the new city and pilot the construction of other sponge cities.
Lingang is maximizing eco-friendly concepts in construction of the pilot area.
In its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), Lingang proposes to become a park city, a sponge city, a no-waste city and a low-carbon city. It also aims to be a well-governed area, focusing on the spatial layout and improvement of the entire ecological environment.
It will carry out comprehensive management of water, air, soil and solid waste ecology and coordinate water safety, environment safety and soil safety.
Apart from the appealing environment, Lingang's authorities are focusing on streamlining the application for environmental certificates.
Since June, biomedicine companies can use one set of materials to apply for three certificates, including environmental impact assessment, water and soil conservation concept, and pollutant discharge permit. The change has cut the previous application time by more than half.
The winter scene of the Lingang area.
