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Community life of Suzhou Industrial Park

By Song Wenwei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-09-23 17:58

People are having a singing session in Old People’s Daycare Centre in Linglong Bay community.

Clean streets, green grass and trees, stylish buildings, and convenient facilities. All this gives one an urge to buy a house and live here, if you can afford.

This is Linglong Bay Community, a duplicate of Singaporean community brought over to Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP).

A joint project by China and Singapore, the SIP started construction in 1994 and was blueprinted as a new town of Suzhou, a city of 2500 years, with the concentration of high-tech industries, advanced service industry and modern residential areas.

By the end of last year, over 10,000 overseas companies and enterprises had settled here and the population has reached over 610,000, of whom about 10,000 are foreigners.

“It has always been our emphasis to create a comfortable living environment for the residents here when we pursue fast industrial development,” said Yang Zhiping, director of SIP.

Policy and financial support from SIP’s administrative committee have greatly promoted the construction and operation of communities.

With the increase of households in Linglong Bay community, a management committee was set up in 2006 to provide quality services to the residents.

A total sum of 500,000 yuan ($74,000) has been invested over the past two years in the building of service facilities.

“The improvement of environment and facilities in our community has attracted people to move here and they are very satisfied with our services,” said Zhang Xingyuan, director of the committee.

The number of residents in the community has risen from about 3500 two years ago to over 5000, including 315 foreigners from 7 countries and regions.

To enrich people’s pastime life, foreigner club, recreational club, library and other service bodies have been set up in the community.

People go and participate in various kinds of activities in the clubs and centres, such as table tennis, fitness training, and singing and dancing.

Old People’s Daycare Centre is most welcomed by retired people whose children are out work during the day.

“We come here every morning and go back home in the evening when our children come home from work,” said Jiang Yungong

Jiang, 70, a retired professor from a university in Shenyang in Northeast China, moved here three years ago to live with his son who works in an IT company in SIP.

“I find the life here is very comfortable and relaxing and people are friendly, though I am still not quite used to the weather and Suzhou dialect,” said Jiang.

Catering to the needs of the residents, the community committee organizes classes to teach people handicraft-making, calligraphy, painting and dancing.

“I have retired and take it as a joy to teach people how to make paper flowers,” said Wang Liandi, 65, is one of the 50 volunteers whose regular participation in various activities has really enlivened the community life.