Urban Development Observation in China: Deconstructing Jinyang

Author: Shi Fang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: This is an observation of a city's growth from the perspective of a journalist. The population density is nearly 30,000 per square kilometer, with the bustling downtown area reaching up to 50,000. You might not believe it, but Guiyang is one of the most crowded cities in China, and even in the world. Guiyang residents need new living spaces, and the city needs new development spaces. Thus, Jinyang, a hilly area located 12 kilometers northwest of Guiyang, has come into view. Three years ago, Jinyang was a rural scene; three years later, Jinyang, a modern city, is on the rise, and it will become one of the dual centers of Guiyang. Jinyang New District is one of the first 14 pilot cities in China to be digitally, garden-like, and ecologically developed, and it is also the only new district in the country to be a pilot for a circular economy. As a new district for building western cities, Jinyang faces challenges shared by all western cities: lack of funding, shortage of urban construction management talent, and a lack of population and industrial support. Drawing on China's 20-plus years of urban development experience since the reform and opening-up, Jinyang has innovated in urban construction management concepts, urban planning methods, urban construction operation mechanisms, and urban investment and financing models, enriching the theory of urban new district development. Some say Jinyang is a miracle of western Chinese cities; UN officials say Jinyang provides a model for urban construction in developing countries worldwide; it is our great era that has given rise to Jinyang. Jinyang is taking off.