News

City residents enjoy 'comfortable living'

By Xu Xiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-14 07:58

New housing project in Jiangjin Provided to China Daily

For nearly 1,500 years, Jiangjin in southeast Chongqing - one of China's four municipalities - has been a regional crop production base.

But now, the district has been named a "model Chinese city for comfortable living," attracting residents and tourists from home and abroad.

By the end of last year, Jiangjin had invested 300 million yuan in renovating old urban roads and 280 million yuan in building 253,000 square meters of low-rent houses.

The district government also put 50.09 million yuan towards a complaint handling center. Since 2009, the center has addressed the grievances of some 1,000 locals and resolved 797 long-pending filings.

Jiangjin's first bridge across the Yangtze opened in 1997.During that same year, the district closed all toll stations on secondary highways.

But, construction and renovation of local roads and ports continued. Today, every Jiangjin township and village is accessible by paved motorway. The area has 77 ports.

In the past two years, funds have also went to basic medical programs and health facilities.

Around 580 million yuan was invested in new fitness centers, gyms and public parks on Binjiang Avenue, in addition to other projects.

Local authorities hope to establish a comprehensive medical system that will serve both urban and rural populations. Currently, 106 senior citizens over age 100 reside in the district.

According to officials, such longevity is no fluke. The district boasts green mountains, clean streets and environmentally-friendly parks, said government representatives.

The region's forest coverage rate is around 29 percent, and urban green land accounts for 31.5 percent of the district's total.

During recent years, the government has invested 100 million yuan in afforestation programs.

Now, the district of Jiangjin has nearly 105 sq m of forests and more than 50,000 saplings. It also has several suburban parks.

Forest coverage is estimated to grow to 452 sq m, accounting for 48 percent of the district's total within the next eight years.

Around 46 percent of urban areas will be afforested, with green belts added along 95 percent of roads in the district.

(China Daily 10/14/2010 page6)