The city of Qingdao is on the path to becoming a modern international city with a new round of development plans recently unveiled to the public. "Overall Plans for the City of Qingdao(2006-2020)" were introduced on July 22 and will be available for viewing online for one month, in a bid to draw public comments and suggestions.

The new round of development plans, which took about five years to prepare, stress the development of Qingdao Bay and aim to build a modern urban framework comprising Qingdao, Huangdao, Hongdao as well as Laoshang, according to the Qingdao Planning Bureau. It will give a significant boost to the comprehensive strength of the main city zone and better drive the prospect of other zones, the Bureau said.

According to the new plans,Qingdao will rival other contemporary international cities, with a population of nearly 12 million,about 5 million of which will live in the city center. It will boast 540 square kilometers of land for urban construction and the urbanization ratio will have increased to 77.8% if the plans are successfully carried out. By 2050,Qingdao will become an advanced international coastal city with major indexes of economic progress equaling that of developed countries.

A new development pattern is being proposed to make the Jiaozhou Bay area the core layer, Jimo, Jiaozhou, Jiaonan the inner circle and Laixi and Pingdu the outer layer. Construction is also being set for Langya, Aoshan and Tianheng groups along the coastal area, with a new construction area of 870 square meters and a total planning area of 2.780 square meters.

The Qingdao Planning Bureau said in the next 10 years,Qingdao will strive to build itself as “eastern China’s major coastal city, a famous historic and cultural city, an international port city, and a coastal tourist resort city”. It has committed to making Qingdao the economic center of eastern coastal areas by making good use of its modern service center, cultural center, national marine research and development center, modern manufacturing and high-tech industries base, and regional airport. These centers and its status as the international shipping center of Northeast Asia will help Qingdao become one of the most dynamic, attractive and competitive cities, the Bureau said.

Plans are being made for the Jiaozhou Bay area for construction of industrial research and development institutions and corporate headquarters, as well as developing modern comprehensive service industries like finance, tourism, exhibition, etc. Modern high-tech industries will be actively expanded to the eastern Aoshan area as well as heavy manufacturing to the western Langya area, according to the Bureau.

This new plan will further highlight Qingdao’s unique features of “mountain, sea, town, river, island”, the Bureau said, building Qingdao into a modern city with a splendid culture.

(China Daily July 23, 2009)