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The promise of a green eden

Updated: 2011-08-15 13:34

By Cang Lide (China Daily)

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 The promise of a green eden

The Sino-Singaporean project turned a barren wasteland of old saltpans into a green oasis where 350,000 people will live, work, learn and play in an eco-friendly and sustainable community. Provided to China Daily

The promise of a green eden

The first eco-city in China will be ready for residents next year. Cang Lide visits the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and surveys the landscape of the future.

The question weighed heavy on my mind as we ploughed through thick bumper-to-bumper traffic on our way from Beijing to the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

In the effort to push up GDP growth, the primary goal in the last three decades, congestion on the roads and in the cities has become a common plight throughout the country and it is only one of many problems.

On a plot of land designated as a "development zone", local government works out santong yiping, the basic infrastructure of electricity, water and roads and the leveling of the land. Soon, an influx of foreign or domestic investors moves in, building factories and plants. Next, a flood of migrant workers arrives to take up position in the manufacturing lines, making products that veer towards the lower end of the value chain.

This rapid industrialization has its cost and the citizens pay with compromised living conditions. Air, water and earth become polluted. Natural resources are depleted and energy wasted. The ecosystem is destroyed. Cities become less livable as property prices rocket beyond the reach of the average worker even as he or she battles traffic every day to get to work.

The Chinese leadership is very much aware of this vicious cycle. As premier Wen Jiabao put it in his press conference in the Great Hall of the People in March 2007, "China has failed to properly address the issues related to energy saving, emission reduction and environmental protection." And that is why it is so important for China to adjust its economic growth pattern to achieve sustainable development.

Are the answers to be found in the eco-cities concept, the first of which is taking shape in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City?

As we enter the eco-city boundaries, the landscape changes from a hot arid wasteland to a cool, clean boulevard lined with green shrubs on both sides, and sapling trees in the center islands. On top of buildings partly shaded by another screen of green, we can see solar panels, and movable shades designed to cool the interiors by blocking excess sunshine. Wind turbines lazily spin in the languid breezes.

More questions form in my mind, and this time the one that floats forefront is this: Is this where China's people can "settle in harmony and work with joy" - anju leye - without suffering the common woes in other urban centers?

It did not take long for me to get some answers.

Zhang Yong Wei is a project director with the Eco-City Investment and Development Co. He left China to work in Singapore a decade ago, and decided to settle in the island republic. Two years ago, he was offered a job in the eco-city. He loved the concept so much and has such faith in it that he has since bought a condominium here, investing in one of the first completed projects near the commercial center.

"I like the environment here, its concept of community, its livability. The future looks bright," he says. The price of his family nest is also affordable - 10,000 yuan per square meter. When completed, his condo, as well as other residential housing in the eco-city, will be fully furnished by the developers with energy conservation and waste reduction appliances and amenities.

Zhang is very much part of the pioneer building team. He takes us to a construction site from which the flags of China and Singapore proudly fly side by side.

"Look, how beautiful this is!" Sure enough, the bright orange and white blocks of public housing are gleaming in the sun. This is Zhang's pet project under his supervision. The homes in these blocks are part of a government-sponsored public housing project, which will be sold at 7,000-8,000 yuan ($1,095-$1,250) per square meter, 20 percent lower than market price.

The eco-city is not for the elite. It welcomes all, regardless of age or professional qualification. There are green homes for the white- or blue-collar workers, there are private condominiums and retirement homes, and there is public housing as well as workers' dormitories.

Apart from the careful nurturing of rivers and wetland, fresh air and potable water, what impresses me most is the conscious dedication to provide a close community that will "live, learn, work and play" in the eco-city.

"Living" here is an open concept that contrasts sharply with apartment "blocks" closed off by walls or fences in other cities. Here, residential areas are open to anyone willing to walk or cycle along the cross-paths leading to main roads. No matter which part of town you are in, you're always only a short distance from amenities, shops, markets and restaurants and less than 300 meters away from public transport - a reminder of the Singapore-style public housing model.

The eco-city has already planned the best for "learning". An international school catering to students aged 6 to 18 will start classes next month. This will be the first campus in China set up by GEMS, which already has more than 100 international schools worldwide and an excellent reputation. There will be other schools strategically sited throughout the city. More tertiary education institutions are planning an entry, including an offshore research campus for post-graduate studies by Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

As for "work", job opportunities will come from a long list of renowned companies from China and abroad - including Siemens, Mitsubishi and Chery. City planners are looking at the creation of 175,000 jobs. An animation park is already built and ready for the creative minds that will bring Chinese animation to the next level.

Most of the companies operating in the eco-city are in sectors such as renewable energy, green buildings, green transport and environment management. Some investors who did not meet these criteria were actually turned down because of the city's stringent environmental requirements.

A livable city in an eco-efficient environment with economic vibrancy promoted by green technology - this is no longer such a faraway prospect. The eco-city is ready to welcome its first residents next year, and almost all its residential developments are already 70 percent sold.

The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City may be small - it is after all a little green dot on the sprawling map of China. Even by 2020 when it is fully developed, it will have only 350,000 people. But they will be 350,000 fervent advocates for a new approach to living as an example to the rest of the country and they will be a powerful chorus sounding the way to a new Eden.

You can contact the writer at canglide@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 08/14/2011 page4)

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