By XU JING & WANG NAN

AT just 12 kilometers from the East Third Ring Road, Tongzhou is one of Beijing's closest suburban districts. On an inspection tour in late 2002, top Beijing Municipality leader Liu Qi defined Tongzhou as "... neither an outer suburb, nor a satellite city, but a new urban district." Work is currently underway to make it just that. Following implementation of the Greater Beijing Strategy the capital is to expand into its periphery and so relieve the high density in its downtown area. One way of achieving this is to extend the 50-kilometer Chang'an Avenue from Shijingshan District to Tongzhou District.

Revitalization of the Grand Canal

Tongzhou is the source of the Grand Canal that flows from Beijing to Hangzhou, and also marks the point where Western culture entered the capital. The century-old Luhe Hospital and Luhe Middle School are here, and the Canal Culture Square built two years ago links to the 50-km Chang'an Avenue in central Beijing.

Construction of the eastern line of the project to divert water from south to north will rejuvenate the 30-km Grand Canal, forming a picturesque scenic corridor punctuated with museums, caf¨¦s and boulevards. This "Canal Culture Industry Belt" starts at the northern end, and encompasses scenic spots like the Yuelianghe (Moon River) Garden, Canal Culture Square, Canal Olympic Sports Park, and Canal Ecological Park. It is one of the six 2008 Olympics recommended scenic areas.

An Eastward Focus

The source of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Tongzhou must achieve the following goals in order to make itself a new urban district: In five years it will manifest the framework of, and in ten years will have completed a new Beijing urban district. Based on the Greater Beijing Strategy, Tongzhou's quality city planning will stress local characteristics.

When complete, this new Beijing urban district will be another growth point in the capital's economy. Its one million inhabitants will live within a rational lay out in a beautiful, modern and international environment.

Tongzhou is where the capital's new industry will be concentrated and where professionals that staff urban districts, particularly the CBD, will live. As an important communications hub in the Bohai Sea-Rim Area, Tongzhou will be one of the capital's main material collection and distribution centers, as well as a modern trade center.

Tongzhou is envisaged as a modern waterside city covering 80 square kilometers and with a population of 600,000. The northern Grand Canal, extension of Chang'an Avenue and the Sixth Ring Road will act as its framework, with the urban section of the Grand Canal as its central axis, the city square at its center, and the landmark scenic belt along the Northern Canal and Wenyu River as its basis.

Beijing's eastward shift of focus has brought Tongzhou District unprecedented development opportunities, and upon implementation of a series of projects, Tongzhou will become an important economic and trade center in eastern Beijing.

Convenient Communications

The Bawangfen-Tongzhou subway line shortens the distance between downtown Beijing and Tongzhou.

It is generally acknowledged that "Travel time takes precedence over distance," and employment within a 25-30 kilometer-radius of the city center is most desirable. Tongzhou is ideal in this respect, and working in the CBD while living in Tongzhou is currently the preferred choice of Beijing professionals. The new Bawangfen-Tongzhou subway line has slashed the distance between Tongzhou and downtown Beijing, and it takes just 10 minutes to travel from Tian'anmen to Tongzhou on the Beijing-Tongzhou Expressway. The Chaoyang Road, Chaoyang North Road and Liangguang Road extension projects also provide a closer link between Tongzhou and downtown Beijing.

In recent years, the district government has dedicated itself to the municipal construction of trunk roads and heat supply pipelines necessary for a large residential district. In constructing itself into "a new Beijing urban district," Tongzhou will accelerate road network construction in order to guarantee convenient communications within Tongzhou District, between Tongzhou and downtown Beijing, and between Tongzhou and its surrounding areas. Tongzhou will also enhance its energy supply capability and modern communications, improve environmental quality and construct first-rate hospitals and schools. As there has never been large-scale industry in Tongzhou District, its urban district has negligible industrial pollution.

Government's Key Role

Tongzhou District has taken on the important task of developing eastward, so changing the trend of development within the city nucleus. This will leave sufficient space for Beijing's old urban districts, guarantee a more rational city layout and avoid encroaching on Beijing's northwestern scenic belt.

Rare commercial opportunities stemming from Tongzhou's advantageous location, developed communications, relatively complete infrastructure, and the down-to-earth work of Tongzhou District Construction Commission have invigorated its housing construction. Effective management and quality construction have engendered healthy development of Tongzhou's construction, building materials and real estate industries. As Qiu Chunli, former director of Tongzhou District Construction Commission, says, "Our aim for Tongzhou as 'new urban district,' is to make it serve enterprises as well as all strata of society in order to develop at optimum speed."

In 2003, Tongzhou District's housing construction covered 5.49 million square meters, representing a total production value of 4.37 billion yuan and making it first among Beijing's districts. Large-scale construction has brought prosperity to the local building materials industry, which has 250 enterprises making 100 products in more than 10 categories, all concentrated in Tongzhou. The level of revenue generated by employees in the industry increases 10 percent annually, and Tongzhou District products make up one-fourth of Beijing's total market share.

In 1997, Tongzhou District was named a production base for doors and windows. Now Beijing's largest producer, Tongzhou has formed three groups: the heat-insulated aluminum doors and windows made by East Asia Aluminum Industry Co.; the plastic-steel double-glass heat-preserving doors and windows made by Futian Building Materials; and the color steel sheet double-glass heat-preserving doors and windows made by Yimeisi.

In 2003, the Tongzhou District Construction Commission generated 693 million yuan in revenues, playing a key role in the district's economic and social development.

In the "one-stop" Tongzhou District Construction Commission reception hall all procedures are simplified to the extent that there is no need to stand in line. For the convenience of the construction industry and real estate developers, the commission has changed from passive to active and from fixed to follow-up service. Director Qiu has a motto: "Other than for the development of enterprises, we have no reason to exist."

Real Estate Development

Convenient communications and comprehensive facilities are two factors attracting consumers.

The Tongzhou District Construction Commission pays great attention to brand names and emphasizes project quality rather than short-term success and quick profits.

The commission requires developers to build houses and supportive facilities simultaneously. "Do a good job on the environment before selling houses to clients" is one requirement, and refers to greening and road building. After several years' construction, a series of "low-density" suburban residences in Tongzhou District have been sold to many downtown Beijing residents seeking peace and space.

Tongzhou's new residential quarters, for example its Jingmao International Apartments, Shui'an Changqiao, Shiji Longding and Riguang Qingcheng, provide ample scope for house buyers. The 1.5-million-square-meter Zhujiang International Town, located near the Beijing-Harbin Expressway and the Sixth Ring Road, is a particularly hot item. One third of its 800 clients are white-collar workers and entrepreneurs from the CBD and northern Beijing.

Tongzhou District's efficient communications and service facilities and high quality low priced real estate attract swarms of consumers. Aware of this, leaders of the Tongzhou District Construction Commission have fixed an orientation whereby real estate developers must in the coming five years advance from extensive to intensive development and guarantee quality of construction. Meanwhile, they should not seek the high investment associated with high costs and selling prices, but stabilize costs in order to maintain market demand. This is good news for prospective buyers of property in Tongzhou as it creates a win-win situation for both them and housing developers.

Throughout its plans to become a new Beijing urban district, Tongzhou has stressed the need to construct pillar industries so as to avoid becoming a dormitory city ¡ª merely a place to sleep. The aim is to make Tongzhou a living city of vigor and vitality.

Tongzhou residents are proud of their greening efforts. The 20-hectare Canal Culture Square has a green coverage of more than 70 percent, and the 53-hectare Ecological Park has a variety of vegetative coverage. In the spring of 2003, several million trees were planted in Tongzhou and its boulevards are now lined with phoenix, gingko and Chinese scholar trees.

Housing suburbanization has been underway for a decade and brought a huge increase in the number of houses in Beijing's suburban districts. As leader of this movement, Tongzhou has formulated new concepts, like the new wave of residential construction at the northern end of the Grand Canal. The specter of new urbanism is now becoming reality. At the northern end of the 1,000-year-old Grand Canal and the eastern end of the 50-km Chang'an Avenue, the new urban district of Tongzhou embodies the received residential environment ideal; its residents enjoy a prosperous and fulfilling life within a natural environment.