Beijing builds sub-center to cure 'big city disease'

BEIJING, Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on Beijing's sub-center:

On Jan. 11, Beijing's municipal administrative center officially moved from the city center to the suburban Tongzhou District, which is 30 kilometers east. The administration's "home relocation" is broad in scale, attracting wide attention. At present, the first batch of relocation plans have been completed, involving 35 departments and 165 units. It is hoped that the relocation will provide the impetus for the development of a wide range of industries in Tongzhou, and that 400,000 to 500,000 people will be attracted to move to the district from Beijing's central areas by the end of 2035.

Beijing covers an area of 16,000 square kilometers, and currently has a permanent population of 21.7 million. As the capital city, it is the political and cultural center of China as well as its main hub for international exchanges, and scientific and technological innovation. While creating ever more employment opportunities and offering better life choices, Beijing has great appeal to people from all across China and abroad. At the same time, however, like many other megacities in the world, Beijing is also suffering from "big city disease." This disease is defined as arising when a megacity becomes plagued with population expansion, traffic congestion, housing difficulties, and environmental pollution. Foreigners who have traveled, worked or lived in Beijing know this from their experiences and feel the same.

Nowadays, one of the solutions internationally in dealing with the "big city disease" is to build subsidiary centers with a megacity as the center. This approach requires the joint participation of neighboring cities, who must share out the work and help one another. This time, Tongzhou District, where the Beijing municipal administrative center is relocated, has been designed as the "sub-center of Beijing." The relocation plan is one of the important steps Beijing has taken to build sub-centers in cooperation with its neighboring cities. Originally, Beijing authorities used Tian'anmen as the city center and enlarged the city by continuously expanding the construction of Beijing's ring roads. The emergence of "sub-centers" is expected to break the old pattern.

Many people think Beijing is too big and too crowded. In fact, this need not be the case if we look at the concept of "sub-centers." Take Tokyo for example. Its contiguous urban area consisting of various sub-centers has a radius of more than 50 kilometers and a population of over 37 million. Therefore, there is still considerable room for the development of Beijing's metropolitan area. It just needs scientific and prospective planning to make the whole city more suitable for living and working.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and also 70 years since Beijing became the capital of China. With the municipal administrative center moving to Tongzhou and the new sub-center starting operation, Beijing, the city with a history of 3,000 years, is facing the world with a fresh image. More guests and friends are welcome here to experience its great changes.

China Mosaic 
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Beijing builds sub-center to cure 'big city disease' 
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2019-01/24/content_74405033.htm

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SOURCE China.org.cn