By Yang Jie

Expected to transform Tongzhou district into Bejing's "new CBD," the Tongzhou govern-ment unveiled detailed plans on behalf of its "New City" campaign Tuesday.

According to the specific plans that were released, the canal-centric district will be divided up into cultural and business-recreation areas, where 200-meter tall star-rated hotels and 250-meter tall commercial high-rises will be built along side a museum and various exhibition halls.

12 of the 14 construction projects that were announced explicitly forbid the building of residential properties. Environmentally friendly residential communities, however, are permitted to be built on the other two projects.

More urban space will be made for pedestrians, and half of the 14 construction projects will not be equipped with vehicular roads, and will have only sidewalks and bike lanes.

Shi Weiliang, general engineer for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Plan-ning, said priority for traffic planning has been designated as "first pedestrians, then public transports, then bicycles then vehicles."

Close to 155 square kilometers have been allotted for the "New City" project, where more than 1 million people currently live. Three new transport hubs are expected to service the area, including several high-capacity BRT lines and subway Line M6, set to be completed in 2012.

The Beijing Morning Post reported that construction of four "landmark buildings" associated with the project is expected to commence following the coming National Day holiday.