CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Dinner parties, sitting for reading, “lying down” for having a rest... The green lawn is always refreshing. With the first batch of park green spaces open in Chongqing, many citizens arrange their outdoor activities in the park green spaces.

Recently, according to Chongqing Urban Administration Bureau, in order to guide the sustainable opening of park green spaces, and better serve the public, Chongqing is preparing the Guide for Chongqing Park Green Spaces Opening and Sharing, and Technical Guidelines for Conservation of Plants in Opened and Shared Spaces of Chongqing Park Green Spaces (Trial). According to the Guide and Guidelines, Chongqing will open more than 50 park green spaces within the year.

Collect citizens’ demands

Improve supporting facilities gradually

Li Qing is a primary school teacher in Yubei District. She lives near Chongqing Central Park. She often gathers her friends in the Park after work or on weekends. Although Li Qing is a veteran outdoor enthusiast, she doesn’t bring much “equipment” every time when she comes to the Park because of its complete supporting facilities. Not far from the lawn, there is a water station with hot and normal-temperature water, and a vending machine nearby offering a wide range of beverages.

According to the Implementation Plan for Chongqing Park Green Spaces Opening and Sharing Pilots issued at the end of April, Chongqing Central Park is one of the pilot parks. In the first batch of 35 parks, a total of 59 green spaces will be open to the public.

Wang Haomin, Director of the Park Management Department of Chongqing Urban Administration Bureau, said that the park green spaces as a whole are open for public benefit, friendly for all ages, and convenient for people, because they are still in the pilot stage, they are listening to the public’s opinions and suggestions on improving the supporting facilities. “For example, some people want to increase the number of public toilets and put them closer to the event area, and some people want to increase the number of parking spaces.” Wang Haomin said that at present they has collected some citizens’ opinions, and they are adding parking lots, convenient service stations, toilets, lighting, communication and other facilities to some urban parks.

Slightly adjust park layout

Give consideration to safety, convenience and comfort

In the Jinhaiwan Riverside Park located in Liangjiang New Area, the reporter saw camping areas, picnic areas and so on in the lawn, forest spaces and empty areas. Parking lots have been added along Binjiang Road and tea areas have been added near the river. Ms. Liu, living next to the Park, is usually a “homebody”, but now she is also willing to come to the Park for a walk. “The Park is quiet and you can enjoy the river view while reading in the teahouse, which is a better reading experience.” She said happily.

Many existing urban parks have large areas. How to reasonably delineate shared areas and slightly adjust the layout to meet the needs of citizens for outdoor activities? “There are three main preconditions that we have taken into account in the Guide.” Wang Haomin explained that such preconditions are safety and accessibility, universal benefit and convenience, ecology and comfort.

With respect to safety and accessibility, it is required to select lawns, under-forest spaces and open spaces with relatively smooth terrain, complete emergency support and convenient access for the masses, do a good job in traffic connectivity, optimize route guidance, and improve accessibility and participation. For example, in the open spaces of Shaping Park, the guidance system is clear, with location signs, guidance signs and plan sketch, which can help visitors to quickly identify directions.

With respect to universal benefit and convenience, it is necessary to take full account of citizens’ daily recreational habits and choose popular parks with high entry rate, complete supporting facilities and even layout so as to serve more citizens.

Arrange lawns to “have holidays by turns” for maintenance

Share green spaces sustainably

When visiting some open and shared urban parks, the reporter found that the lawns in some open spaces grew uneven, especially the lawns with more civic activities; and some grass has turned yellow and died.

“Don’t worry too much. Lawns will have holidays by turns.” Wang Haomin said that the rotation mechanism is clearly defined in the Technical Guidelines, the rotation table of lawns in open areas is formulated according to plant habits, and the lawn zoning conservation and management mode will be gradually promoted. For example, Chongqing Central Park has adopted the method of opening green spaces in batches and managing them in different areas. (Translated by Liu Hongyan, Fathom Language Limited)