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Goal Set for Ecological Construction of Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area! Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, and Xuchang to Be National Ecological Garden Cities

"By 2025, the eco-environment of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area will be significantly improved with the green coverage rate achieving 44% in the urban built-up area. By 2035, the eco-environment of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area will reach the level of developed countries and regions."

It marks that an ecological and livable path of happiness is being paved.

Recently, the Henan Provincial Reform and Development Commission issued the Plan for Ecological Protection and Construction of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area (2020-2035) (hereinafter referred to as the Plan), which clarifies that the construction of an eco-environment supporting system in line with the high-quality development of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area should be accelerated to lay a solid foundation for building the Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and High-quality Development Demonstration Zone.

The Plan focuses on the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area and takes the space of Kaifeng, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, and Xuchang into account to form a big pattern of all-region ecological protection with the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area as the subject.

The Goal Set for Ecological Construction of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area

The Plan sets goals for the ecological protection and construction of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area:

By 2025, the eco-environment will be significantly improved, the Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and High-quality Development Demonstration Zone basically constructed, and the urban living eco-environment more harmonious. The wetland protection rate will reach 50%, the number of days with good air quality will be 292, the green coverage rate will achieve 44% in the urban built-up area, and the five cities within the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area will all be built into a National Ecological Garden City.

By 2035, the eco-environment of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area will reach the level of developed countries and regions. It is expected to build a harmonious metropolitan area with beautiful landscapes, an environmental-friendly metropolitan area with an intensive and efficient economy, and a livable metropolitan area with a healthy and civil society, thus making the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area a new model for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin.

An Integrated and Coordinated Ecological Pattern Formed

The Plan indicates that a multi-layered, multi-functional, compound, and network-based regional ecological pattern featuring "one axis, one center, one belt, double rings, multiple corridors, and multiple spots" will be formed in the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area.

Building the Yellow River Green Development Axis. It is planned to implement the Wetland Protection & Restoration Project Along the Yellow River, upgrade the functions of Zhengzhou National Yellow River Wetland Park and Kaifeng Huayuankou Wetland Park, and construct a large-scale wetland ecological belt area in the north bank of the Yellow River to form a "green network" on the land side of the river levee. Meanwhile, the comprehensive shelter forest system along the Yellow River will be improved to create a "green corridor" on the riverside of the river levee, so as to build an east-west green development axis characterized by natural ecological elements.

Building the Zhengzhou-Kaifeng-Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone Ecological Green Center with high standards. It is planned to take advantage of ecological resources like the Yanminghu Forest Park, Zhongmu Forest Park, Jialu River, Guohe River, and Yunliang River to systematically restore ecological spaces including forests, wetlands, and sandy plantation. The Chinese Biological Garden will be constructed to continuously enhance the protection of biological diversity and further consolidate the regional ecological system.

Upgrading functions of the South-North Water Transfer Ecological Belt. It is planned to enhance the construction of the shelter forest belt along the central line of the South-North Water Transfer Project and form a south-north ecological conservation and landscape belt with artificial ecological elements as dominance.

Coordinating to build the Double Green Rings. It is planned to build an ecological inner ring in the metropolitan area with Zhengzhou Green Ring Expressway as a framework and suburb parks and ecological agriculture as dominance. The afforestation will be implemented in the Taihang Mountains, Mount Song, and other mountains to improve the forest coverage and build an ecological outer ring for the metropolitan area integrating ecological sources, ecological shelters, cultural landscapes, and leisure and sightseeing.

Building an ecological corridor system with multiple layers and regions. It is planned to strengthen the "separation function" of ecological corridors, prevent the disorderly development of cities, and support a spatial pattern with numerous centers, groups, and networks. With increasing green quantity, improving the quality of forests, and restoring eco-environments as highlights, a complete ecological corridor system with crisscrossed networks and beautiful scenery will take shape.

Making the layout of balanced and coordinated ecological nodes. The ecological nodes like forest parks, wetland parks, and suburb parks will be constructed in administrative border areas and densely packed urban areas to build a systematic and balanced ecological network without non-green space.

A Regional Ecological System to Be Protected and Fostered

The Plan points out that it is required to jointly promote the construction of five ecological systems in the region, improve the stability of the metropolitan area ecological system, maintain biological diversity, and comprehensively enhance the regional ecological service function.

Building the forest ecosystem. The forest ecosystem mainly includes constructing the forest shelter in the western mountains and the forest ecosystem along the Yellow River, improving the eastern forest ecological network, and increasing the forest quantity in urban areas. By 2025, the green coverage of downtown areas in five cities will reach over 45%, while that of urban areas in county-level cities will reach over 42%.

Building the wetland ecosystem. The wetlands along the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Xinxiang, and Jiaozuo will be integrated to build a distinct science popularization corridor for green ecology, waterfront leisure, and biological diversity in the Central Plain.

Building the watershed ecosystem. Before 2025, an ecological river-lake network system for water storage, flood discharge, water transfer, water diversion and drainage, and multi-source complementary will be formed in the region to enhance the water supply capability and water capacity of the metropolitan area.

Building the farmland ecosystem. A farmland ecosystem with the integration of charming farmlands and beautiful countryside will be constructed.

Building the urban ecosystem. Based on the goal of building a beautiful hometown suitable for working and living, it is planned to accelerate the construction of the urban ecosystem with the integration of garden and city. By 2030, over 80% of the urban built-up area will meet the requirements of a sponge city.

Collaborating to Treat the Regional Eco-environment

The Plan has clarified that five cities of the metropolitan area will work together to win three battles for air quality, water, and soil pollution prevention and control, expand regional environmental capacity, and improve regional environmental quality.

Improving regional air quality. As for the regional air quality pollution prevention and control, it is planned to implement the unified plan and standards, conduct the unified monitoring, and take unified actions to speed up the adjustment of four structures of industry, energy, transport, and land use, thus effectively improving the air quality. By 2025, the average coal consumption for thermal power supply will be under 300 grams standard coal/KHW. Co-establishing the regional ventilation corridor system. It is planned to construct the metropolitan area ventilation corridor based on the cross-city ecological corridor, with the aim to enhance the airflow capacity and mitigate the heat island effect of the metropolitan area.

Collaborating to treat the regional water environment. It is planned to implement projects for the protection of drinking water sources, coordinated treatment of the watershed environment, water pollution prevention & control in rural areas, and so on. As a result, the water environment quality of the metropolitan area will be maintained and improved. Collaborating to guarantee the safety of the soil environment. The safety utilization rate of polluted construction lands in the metropolitan area is expected to be 100% by 2025.

Coordinated Development of the Ecological Economy

According to The Plan, the five cities in the metropolitan area should maintain driving forces from both the ecological development of industry and the industrial development of ecology, swing into action to foster new technologies, new industries, and new business forms, and significantly increase the value of natural resources in urban and rural areas, thus successfully pursuing the end of turning lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets.

The key tasks include improving and upgrading the green industrial system, fostering new driving forces of the green economy, and promoting the integrated development of ecological and cultural tourism. Choicest cultural tourism routes, such as Chinese ancient capitals, Chinese kungfu, landscapes in the Central Plain, and the Silk Road along the Yellow River, will be developed to build the metropolitan area into a world-famous cultural tourism destination with Central Plain's characteristics and the fusion of traditional and modern cultures.

Ecological Construction Highlighting Regional Coordinated Development

According to the Plan, with respect to the ecological construction and protection of the metropolitan area, it will highlight the linkage mechanism, stick to the unified planning, standards, policies, and control, and strengthen the coordination of the construction and protection of various ecological spaces in the metropolitan area.

The Plan indicates that it will establish the linkage mechanism for the regional industrial transformation, make an overall plan for the industrial structure and layout of the metropolitan area, and develop the catalogue for restricted, prohibited, and eliminated industries linked by the metropolitan area in a unified manner. Meanwhile, the people's governments of the five cities will jointly finance the establishment of the Fund for Ecological Construction and Protection of the Metropolitan Area.

Furthermore, efforts will be made to design and implement eight landmark projects in the cross-regional eco-environment construction, explore the regional coordinated protection of the eco-environment and the reform in the governance mechanism, and drive the high-quality development of the eco-environment protection and construction in the metropolitan area based on the principle of point to area and combination of the two.

Eight landmark projects include:

Construction Project of the Ecological Corridor Along the Yellow River

Construction Project of the Chinese Biological Garden

Construction Project of the Zhengzhou-Kaifeng-Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone Ecological Green Center

Construction Project of the Ecological Barrier in the South Taihang Mountains

Construction Project of the Western Ecological Barrier

Construction Project of the Shelter Forest Belt of the South-North Water Transfer Project

Construction Project of the Grand Canal Ecological Culture Belt

Construction Project of the Culture-Tourism Integration Demonstration Belt Themed by "Two Mountains (Yuntai Mountain and Mount Song) and Two Boxing (Shaolin Boxing and Tai Chi)"

 

Copyright by Zhengzhou Municipal Tourism Administration