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4 cities benefit from Urban Circle
By Yang Jian |
November 29, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CUI Jianqi's home in Huzhou City is more than 40 kilometers from his workplace in neighboring Hangzhou City, but a new inter-city bus line makes commuting easy. He can leave home at 7am and get back around 6pm for dinner, like most white-collar professionals.
The K588 bus, part of the plan to build the Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle, takes only an hour between Hangzhou and Huzhou in Zhejiang Province and a ticket costs 10 yuan (US$1.57). After getting off the bus, Cui takes a bicycle from Hangzhou's bicycle rental network and in 30 minutes he's at his desk at a software company.
"Because of the inconvenient transport, I could only get home once every two weeks in the past," 30-year-old Cui says.
Residents within the Urban Economic Circle not only enjoy better transport, but also integrated medical care and tourism. The circle was launched in 2007 as a joint initiative among four Zhejiang cities, including Hangzhou, Huzhou, Jiaxing and Shaoxing.
For instance, Hangzhou residents can pay hospital fees with their medical insurance account when getting treatment in Huzhou; residents of Jiaxing City find it less expensive to visit the hill scenes in Hangzhou.
"The Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle is one of the six most competitive economic circles in China and residents' living standards have improved," Zhou Kaijiang, director of the circle's development office, told mayors of the four cities last Friday.
The four city chiefs sat down together in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan District to sum up the progress made and discuss plans for the future. All four pledged to provide better living conditions and earnings for their residents and companies.
Fast transport has had the biggest benefit for residence.
Hangzhou Metro Line 1 will be open to the public next October as the 30 stations along the line have been completed, according to Zhu Chunlei, an official with the Shanghai Urban Construction Group, which is in charge of construction. Work began in 2007.
Line 1, which runs 48 kilometers, will link to lines in Huzhou and Jiaxing cities in the future, while the northeast part of Line 2 is to be completed by late 2013, Zhu said.
Several new public bus lines, including the K588, connecting downtown Hangzhou with surrounding cities and counties. Three regular buses have been added, linking downtown Hangzhou with Tonglu, Jiande and Chun'an counties. They are part of the existing network connecting five counties and Hangzhou.
Cheaper tickets at tourist destinations across the circle is another benefit of cities' integration. Last February, local tourist bureaus offered discounts of as much as 60 percent to residents of the four cities. More than 110 tourist destinations and hotels in the four cities are part of the promotion, including 70 in Hangzhou. About 50,000 visitors participated, 70 percent of them from Hangzhou.
Moreover, Hangzhou residents got new insurance cards that ensure coverage when rural and urban dwellers seek medical treatment in five counties on the outskirts of Hangzhou.
In the next step, the Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle will develop the coastal and marine economy in Zhejiang Province, which is part of the central government's plan to develop the marine economy and develop the Yangtze River Delta Region, said Zhou, director of the urban circle's development office.
By 2015, the economic circle will begin taking shape and play a more important role in the Yangtze River Delta Region cities, he said.
The Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle centers on the city of Hangzhou, with three subcenters in the cities of Huzhou, Jiaxing and Shaoxing.
Under the plan, five counties within Hangzhou's jurisdiction and another six neighboring counties will be closely linked, with influence extending to the three subcenter cities.
The 34,585-square-kilometer urban circle accounts for nearly 34 percent of the area of Zhejiang Province. By the end of 2009, nearly 20 million people lived within the circle, about 38 percent of the population in Zhejiang Province.
The area contributed about half of Zhejiang Province's economic growth in 2009, with a gross domestic product of more than 1 trillion yuan (US$156.6 billion).
The K588 bus, part of the plan to build the Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle, takes only an hour between Hangzhou and Huzhou in Zhejiang Province and a ticket costs 10 yuan (US$1.57). After getting off the bus, Cui takes a bicycle from Hangzhou's bicycle rental network and in 30 minutes he's at his desk at a software company.
"Because of the inconvenient transport, I could only get home once every two weeks in the past," 30-year-old Cui says.
Residents within the Urban Economic Circle not only enjoy better transport, but also integrated medical care and tourism. The circle was launched in 2007 as a joint initiative among four Zhejiang cities, including Hangzhou, Huzhou, Jiaxing and Shaoxing.
For instance, Hangzhou residents can pay hospital fees with their medical insurance account when getting treatment in Huzhou; residents of Jiaxing City find it less expensive to visit the hill scenes in Hangzhou.
"The Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle is one of the six most competitive economic circles in China and residents' living standards have improved," Zhou Kaijiang, director of the circle's development office, told mayors of the four cities last Friday.
The four city chiefs sat down together in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan District to sum up the progress made and discuss plans for the future. All four pledged to provide better living conditions and earnings for their residents and companies.
Fast transport has had the biggest benefit for residence.
Hangzhou Metro Line 1 will be open to the public next October as the 30 stations along the line have been completed, according to Zhu Chunlei, an official with the Shanghai Urban Construction Group, which is in charge of construction. Work began in 2007.
Line 1, which runs 48 kilometers, will link to lines in Huzhou and Jiaxing cities in the future, while the northeast part of Line 2 is to be completed by late 2013, Zhu said.
Several new public bus lines, including the K588, connecting downtown Hangzhou with surrounding cities and counties. Three regular buses have been added, linking downtown Hangzhou with Tonglu, Jiande and Chun'an counties. They are part of the existing network connecting five counties and Hangzhou.
Cheaper tickets at tourist destinations across the circle is another benefit of cities' integration. Last February, local tourist bureaus offered discounts of as much as 60 percent to residents of the four cities. More than 110 tourist destinations and hotels in the four cities are part of the promotion, including 70 in Hangzhou. About 50,000 visitors participated, 70 percent of them from Hangzhou.
Moreover, Hangzhou residents got new insurance cards that ensure coverage when rural and urban dwellers seek medical treatment in five counties on the outskirts of Hangzhou.
In the next step, the Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle will develop the coastal and marine economy in Zhejiang Province, which is part of the central government's plan to develop the marine economy and develop the Yangtze River Delta Region, said Zhou, director of the urban circle's development office.
By 2015, the economic circle will begin taking shape and play a more important role in the Yangtze River Delta Region cities, he said.
The Hangzhou Urban Economic Circle centers on the city of Hangzhou, with three subcenters in the cities of Huzhou, Jiaxing and Shaoxing.
Under the plan, five counties within Hangzhou's jurisdiction and another six neighboring counties will be closely linked, with influence extending to the three subcenter cities.
The 34,585-square-kilometer urban circle accounts for nearly 34 percent of the area of Zhejiang Province. By the end of 2009, nearly 20 million people lived within the circle, about 38 percent of the population in Zhejiang Province.
The area contributed about half of Zhejiang Province's economic growth in 2009, with a gross domestic product of more than 1 trillion yuan (US$156.6 billion).
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