China’s 5 most amazing ‘new’ cities
Author Wade Shepard travelled through China witnessing immense cities being built from scratch. He lists his favourites and why every traveller should visit them
17 April 2015
It’s the sheer strangeness of China’s new cities that give them their intrigue; they are something different, something new, something unique that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.
China is building hundreds of new cities, towns, and districts completely from scratch, and it is this thrill of observing and experiencing something remarkable that kept me travelling through these new urban frontiers for two and a half years. Here are five of my favourites.
China is building hundreds of new cities, towns, and districts completely from scratch, and it is this thrill of observing and experiencing something remarkable that kept me travelling through these new urban frontiers for two and a half years. Here are five of my favourites.
1. Meixi Lake, Changsha, Hunan
Meixi Lake is a new city that encircles a 40-hectare, 4-kilometre artificial lake on the outskirts of Changsha in Hunan province and is one of the world’s biggest experiments in urban design.
Its designers describe it as a ‘live test case’, and many cutting-edge elements of green architecture and design are being implemented here. The 180,000 people expected to live here will be divided up into 10,000 person residential units, ‘villages’ that will be divided by wooded areas and an extensive network of canals. Residents are expected to commute to work by boat.
Its designers describe it as a ‘live test case’, and many cutting-edge elements of green architecture and design are being implemented here. The 180,000 people expected to live here will be divided up into 10,000 person residential units, ‘villages’ that will be divided by wooded areas and an extensive network of canals. Residents are expected to commute to work by boat.
Meixi Lake is currently a work in progress. It’s essentially a mass of cranes and scaffolding rising up the sides of half-finished buildings. Part of the allure of visiting China’s new cities is watching skyscrapers rising up from rice paddies and vegetable gardens. Meixi Lake is one of the best places to catch a glimpse of China’s rapid rural-to-urban transition.
2. Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou, Henan province
Zhengdong New District started out as an urban expansion project that would literally double the size of Zhengzhou – the 8-million-person capital of Henan province. 150 square kilometres were cleared around a defunct military airport, and construction began in 2003.
In just five years Phase 1 was completed, and there was a brand new financial district that sprouted 60 skyscrapers, a university town that had eight campuses, and sprawling technological and industrial zones.
In just five years Phase 1 was completed, and there was a brand new financial district that sprouted 60 skyscrapers, a university town that had eight campuses, and sprawling technological and industrial zones.
The district reveals how expansive China’s urbanisation push really is. On every horizon there is a wall of high-rises being constructed. To walk across the development zone takes hours. Zhengdong is now twice the size of San Francisco, and it is still being expanded. Eventually it will stretch out to neighbouring Kaifeng and be the heart of the 37.5-million-person Zhengyuan ‘mega-region’.
