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| landscape of Datong's east city wall |
The city of Datong's Party committee and the local government reached a turning point back in 2008 when they suddenly had a vision of urban transformation and green development, so, they decided to turn their attention to ecological development and urban greening all year round.
And the transformation is reaching many places – a waste site to the south of Datong, which has become the Zhijiabao Forest Park, on 30 hectares of ground; and empty construction site to the north that has become the Zijiacun Forest Park, on 200 hectares; and an ash dump to the west that is becoming a 60-hectare Forest Park, all of them with their own ecological and social benefits.
The city's Landscape Management Department has also compiled manuals on scientific, standardized maintenance and has a special section for management and reinforcement, and companies responsible for the watering, fertilizing, spraying, and trimming of the landscaping.
The city has taken this effort seriously and has consulted design companies and institutes, such as EDAW, Belt Collins, Shenzhen BLY, Beijing Landscape & Traditional Chinese Architectural Engineering Co, and Tsinghua University in its planning, with more than 10 top landscape companies involved via open bidding.
Also, Datong has a good situation and can ensure the healthy growth of plants through better maintenance, replacing its uglier parts with a park-like landscape and better roads that take the local color, elevation, four seasons, and short-to-long-term effect into consideration. Its green rate is now 41.7 percent and green coverage at 37 percent, with 13.12 square meters green area per capita.
Edited by Roger Bradshaw
