With bigger houses, wider roads, and more green areas, Beijing citizens are enjoying a better lifestyle than five years ago. The Beijing Morning Post carries an article reviewing the achievements made in Beijing' s civil construction during this period.

Road building has been the focus of Beijing's municipal construction. Urban roads have seen an increase of 440 kilometers since 1995, to a total of 38,00 kilometers. With the improvement in transportation, more and more urban dwellers are willing to buy houses in the suburbs.

Beijinger's housing area per capita reached 15 square meters in 1999, 1.6 square meters more than that in 1996.

With larger houses, citizen's demands for a better environment have also increased. About 6,500 hectares of public green land was built in Beijing last year and the city has the country's largest sewage treatment plant.

(China Daily 10/26/2000)