Guiyang creates 'park city' to benefit masses

Residents exercise at Guanshanhu Park in Guiyang, the capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

The lake is clear and wide, lotus flowers bloom, and the egrets sing freely. This is just one part of Guanshanhu Park, which covers about 5,000 mu (333 hectares).

Cao Yang, director of the Guanshanhu branch of the Guiyang bureau of Ecology and Environment, cited how Guanshanhu district is a "national ecological civilization construction demonstration area" named and awarded by the Ministry of Ecological Environment, as well as a practice and innovation base running under the banner of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". At present, 184 parks of various kinds have been built in the district.

The building of parks in Guanshanhu district serves as a microcosm for the situation in Guiyang as a whole.

Due to its karst landforms, Guiyang has narrow urban spaces, Qianlingshan Park – located in the old urban area – is often crowded, and it takes residents a long time to enter the park.

Considering the needs of locals, Guiyang put forward a unified plan in 2015, focusing on building an ecological park system proximate to large-scale residential areas in order to better serve the masses.

A number of parks – forest, wetland, mountain, city and community parks – with balanced layouts, myriad functions and beautiful environments have been gradually built in Guiyang.

The total number of parks in the city has hit 1,025, greatly expanding the leisure and entertainment space for residents.

"Over the years, there are more parks in the city and more places to walk," said Luo Xiu, a resident in Guiyang, also a hiking enthusiast.

Moreover, in 2022 the green economy accounted for almost 50 percent of Guiyang's GDP. An Yanling, a professor at Guizhou Institute of Technology, said Guiyang is getting better and better at integrating its economic development with environmental protection.