Qingdao thrives as hub of urban development

Qingdao offers magnificent views of red tiles, green trees, blue seas and azure skies. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Qingdao takes the expectations that the public have for a better life as the foundation of its development, protecting historical areas, transforming old towns and villages, and striving for the construction of a park city.

The core area of the historical district, covering 2 square kilometers, has undergone overall protection, renovation and utilization. Qingdao has renovated 350,000 square meters of old buildings, improved key roads such as Zhongshan Road and Taiping Road, and used underground space to build parking lots. Fifteen old street areas such as Silver Fish Street and Pichaiyuan have introduced new business formats, becoming new landmarks for urban tourism. The highest daily passenger flow in historical areas exceeded 300,000 people this year.

The city has upgraded nearly 800 old residential areas and greened surrounding blocks. For example, 12 communities in Zhangcun River area, the largest village in the main urban area, completed its three-year relocation task in just 18 months. Qingdao has also renovated 60 mountain parks in the urban area and built riverside greenways and parks.

Adhering to the integration of the city with industry, Qingdao takes urban renewal construction as an important means to promote industrial transformation.

A virtual reality industrial park covering more than 133 hectares has been built in Laoshan district, attracting leading companies such as electroacoustic components manufacturer GoerTek and Chinese virtual reality headset maker Pico to create an advanced VR research and manufacturing base.

The Wangtai area in Qingdao West Coast New Area has demolished 1.8 million sq meters of old factory buildings, freeing up some 733 hectares of low-efficiency land. A new display industrial cluster centered on BOE Technology Group and other leading enterprises has been formed there.

Qingdao has also improved its traffic situation in more than 200 congested sections throughout its main urban areas. It has added an additional 23,000 parking spaces and is promoting the digitalization of parking.