The old city, within the Third Ring Road and covering 166 square kilometers, will be enhanced, bringing profound change to 2.02 million residents, accounting for 59 percent of the total population living in Changchun's urban area.

Priority was given to the optimization of major streets and roads in an effort to provide a new face for the city in 2016, according to Wang Shizhong, director of the Changchun Appearance, Environment and Sanitation Bureau.

The city invested 11.5 billion yuan ($1.77 billion) last year, with 10 projects launched to upgrade 260 roads, six business areas and 155 old residential communities.

The 10 projects focused on promoting an upgrade of the city's underground pipelines network, improvements to the street environment, maintenance of old communities, and improvements of business zones and traffic flows.

One of the oldest industrial centers in China, Changchun built its first underground water supply pipe in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). With the growth of its urban population and the passing of the years, the problem of an aging and overloaded underground pipe network became increasingly severe, Wang added.

Statistics provided by the Changchun government show that the total length of underground pipes in Changchun is 20,343 kilometers, of which 4,207 km are identified as old with a high risk of bursting.

Wang said that most of those pipes are in areas within the Third Ring Road and in 2016, a length of 454 km of underground pipes were upgraded.

Apart from the improved underground pipeline network, Changchun's residents are also set to see many other benefits flowing from the 10 projects. These include better traffic conditions, a more convenient public transportation service, increased green areas and a better mechanism to support the development of local culture.

Changchun has built a network of cycle paths. It has installed colorful pavements and decorated more than 2,000 street-side buildings.

The city also planted trees in 20 streets, establishing a new green area of 46 hectares, and six new community parks.

More plans for 2017

In 2017, Changchun plans to invest 16.78 billion yuan in 10 projects, to promote the improvement of road conditions, infrastructure, landscaping and transportation in the old city.

The work includes upgrading 161 old communities; removing 500,000 square meters of illegal structures; shanty town refurbishments and maintenance work on 340 streets within the Third Ring Road area.

The government has also taken measures to create more parking for residents. A total of 300,000 new parking lots in residential communities, as well as 20 new large multilevel car parks, will be built downtown.

In addition, illegal advertisement boards along the airport expressway were demolished to build a green entrance path. The public service facilities in Changchun Railway Station and West Station have been maintained and updated to bring more convenience to people, according to Changchun's government.

The reconstruction of the old city took into account local's opinions, so there was participation in the program by the general public.

The city is also strengthening the management of construction quality, with full-time supervision, and builders will be responsible for the overall quality of the buildings.

Changchun invited 36 leading design groups nationally to make plans for the reconstruction of the old city. Experts will review and evaluate the design schemes and make sure the plans meet with high professional standards.

caoyingying@chinadaily.com.cn