Beijing has for the first time put forward a new concept of "building corridors of towns" between the 5th and 6th ring roads. Schemes of building six satellite towns and one airport town have been completed, aimed at attracting the downtown population, and removing them from the central urban area to form a development zone for the central city.

The whole population of the six satellite towns and one airport town is expected to increase from the current 0.8 million to 1.94 million, according to sources from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning. Related schemes have been completed so far. It is the first time for the concept of "corridors of towns" to be issued as an important approach to speed up Beijing's urbanization process.

According to the schemes, these towns will have three-level administrations, namely satellite town, central town and ordinarily-organized town. Regarded as "groups" scattered along highways radiating from central areas of Beijing, they will directly or indirectly connect with each other to form a pattern and will become a main development zone for the city.

In the satellite towns, high-tech industrial bases will be built, as well as higher educational parks and residential quarters. It aims to decrease the population and industrial densities of central urban areas.

The basically-completed expressways with a pattern of radiation will be  "thoroughfares" to connect the city's downtown areas.

The six "corridors of towns" will cover six directions of the city:

In the northwest, there will be Shahe Satellite Town where high-tech industrial bases and higher educational parks will be built.

In the northeast, there will be the Airport Town where high-tech industrial bases and airport-related industrial development districts will be built.

In the east, there will be Tongzhou Satellite Town where the Beijing-Tongzhou and Beijing-Shenyang expressways and Bawangfen-Tongzhou subway make the communication with urban downtown area easily.

In the southeast, there will be Yizhuang Satellite Town where an important high-tech industrial base will be built and the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway and the planned urban railway project will become passageway to the urban downtown area.

In the south, there will be Huangcun Satellite Town where the Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway, planned urban railway project and urban-suburb railway will connect the town with urban downtown area.

In the southwest, there will be Changxindian and Liangxiang satellite towns where high-tech industrial bases and higher educational parks will be built and the Beijing-Shijiazhuang Expressway and planned urban-suburb railway project will connect the towns with urban downtown area.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, July 21, 2003)