Beijing plans to turn urban jungle into a real jungle

• Source: Global Times
• [03:53 October 14 2009]
• Comments

The arbors and bushes are expected to purify the air, prevent soil erosion and absorb noise, Li Jifeng, a spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry, told the Global Times Tuesday.

Construction of the five parks is part of the city's struggle to shake off the image of a dried up and dusty metropolis. Statistics from the bureau showed that by the end of 2007 the green areas of Beijing accounted for 48 square meters per person, with the green areas covering 51.6 percent of the entire municipality. Li said the city has set a goal to have a patch of green every 500 square meters.

"It's a step forward in terms of making the city greener," said Andrew Jarrett, an American teacher at North China Electric Power University. But Andrew also expressed concerns about how much construction would go into building these parks, which would contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases.

"The forests will definitely affect local climate and temperature," said Yang Dong, a professor at Beijing Forestry University. "But the impact it will have on the whole city depends on the scale of the forests."

"Whether or not the city planners can keep the natural ecological system going while providing recreation to visitors will decide the parks' future," Yang said.

Beijing invested 120 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) from 1998 to 2007 to improve the city's natural environment.

Li Qian and Xuyang Jingjing contributed to this story