Hiking and picnic lovers in Beijing will be excited to learn the
city authorities are to build a further 30 suburban country parks
by the end of next year.
The plan will increase the total number of free-admission parks
to 60, an official with the office of the capital afforestation
committee, said yesterday.
The parks will be built along the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads to
create a "green necklace", Liu Lili, a source, said.
"Different from city parks, country parks serve an ecological
function by providing local people with fresh air and more outdoor
space," Liu said.
The new parks will emphasize the greenness of nature, the
Beijing municipal committee for reform and development, which
approved the plan said.
Once completed, the ring of parks, none of which will be no more
than 3 km apart, will provide extra space for people to hike, have
a picnic, fly kites and other outdoor leisure activities, Liu
said.
That's good news for 30-year-old outdoor activities fan Anita
Huang, 30.
"The more the better," she said, adding that in the past she
could go hiking only on Fragrant Hill (Xiangshan).
However, not everyone is as positive about the plan.
MacLean Brodie, 27, a project manger with Beijing ABC
Management, said: "Greens and parks are absolutely wonderful
additions to any city, but you can't call man-made parks real
nature."
The new parks will enclose the existing greenbelt, which
comprises some 116 sq km of trees and other plants between the
Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads.
The greenbelt acts as a guard for the city against dust, noise
and maintaining a thermal balance.
"But, few people could get access to it," Liu said.
The construction of the country parks is intended to solve that
problem by bringing people inside, she said.
The 30 new country parks will cover 1,333 hectares. The total
area of all 60 parks will be about equal to the size of 14 Summer
Palaces.
The concept of country parks originated in Hong Kong in the
1970s, which is home to 23 of them.
(China Daily July 12, 2007)
