By Wang Fang

?

A Model for Sustainable Development Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City

By Wang Fang

“Half a year ago， my family moved here，”said Chen Hu， a media professional living in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City， a newly-built， sustainable town on China's eastern coast. “The environment here is friendly， with a high rate of urban greenery. Daily life here is very convenient.”

Chen is one of many who have made the move to the eco city， built as the result of a collaborative agreement between the Chinese and Singaporean governments， and situated about 40 kilometers from downtown Tianjin. As recently as eight years ago， the area was still covered by saline-alkali soil， but has now achieved a remarkable transformation. Before moving to the eco city， Chen lived in Harbor City in the Tianjin Binhai New Area， which was severely damaged by a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse on August 12， 2015. Despite moving only 40 kilometers， Chen's living environment has changed drastically.

Green： Visible and Invisible

Approaching the eco city from Tianjin， the city's iconic Rainbow Bridge comes into view. Behind the bridge lies a garden of green grass，fresh flowers and lakes which together paint a picture of a beautiful urban park.

“Seeing flowers in three seasons and green leaves all year long” is the greening standard of the eco city. According to the regulations of China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development， a green city's per capita green space should be no less than 12 square meters. The eco city's is nearly 100 square meters per capita.

“Afforestation is only a small part of the‘visible ecology' of the eco city，” said a staffer at the eco city's management bureau， referring to not just greenery but also the sustainable nature of infrastructure and new energy equipment in use in the city. By contrast， ‘invisible ecology' refers to urban management， clean energy and water treatment. The coexistence of the two has resulted in a transformation within the city， with it now serving as a national example for China in regards to eco-friendly areas.

Before the establishment of the eco city，however， the area was far from beautiful， according the Liu Wenchuang， who works for the management bureau of the eco city. Since ancient times， the area has been used for salt production， an industry which began during the Liao Dynasty （907-1125） and peaked during the Jin Dynasty （1115-1234）. During those few centuries， the salt industry was key to economic development in the northern parts of modernday China， especially in the Tianjin area. Excess salt extraction caused the area to turn barren，mostly saline marshes.

Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City is an important achievement of the cooperation between China and Singapore

In modern times， China has attached more and more importance to environmental protection， which brought opportunity to the formerly saline area. In April 2007， then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed with Singaporean Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong the joint construction of a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly city， with the exact location of the project to be decided later. After studying several options， the two governments decided on Tianjin at the end of September 2007. One year later，construction officially began.

Since then， the eco city has made tremendous progress in planning， industrial promotion，ecological construction， environmental improvements and technological research and development. It is understood that the eco city's residential buildings' energy efficiency is more than 75 percent. The eco city has built the first certified reclaimed water plant in China. Its annual solar-powered hot water supply accounts for 80 percent of domestic hot water use. It has also built China's first smart grid demonstration project， making itself China's foremost green development zone.

A Liveable New City

As the world's first eco city jointly developed by two countries， the Tianjin Eco City is tasked with coping with global climate change， saving resources， protecting the ecological environment and helping to build a harmonious society. The eco city has taken the lead in constructing a livable environment for citizens and improving the quality of life of its residents.

“This is completely different from the residential area I used to live in，” Chen said. “Energysaving facilities are commonplace here， including solar power， green buildings， green transportation， residential garbage classification and recycling platforms. Living here feels completely different. It has changed my life.”

At present， the eco city's renewable energy utilization has reached 10.5 percent， according to Liu.

“The most outstanding is electricity. The renewable energy in this category in 2015 was 19 million kilowatt hours， close to 20 percent，”Liu added. What's more， 100 percent of the city's buildings are categorized as “green”， and many are self sufficient in power supply.

Since 2008， the eco city has invested more than 80 percent of government revenues in areas which directly influence people's livelihoods，including education， medical care， elderly care and public transportation. Their efforts have paid off in terms of the construction of new public service facilities.

Cloning Singapore's three-tier residential mode of ecological “Cell-Community-Area”，Tianjin's eco city has built its own community services center， which has made arrangements in community management， medical care， commerce， culture and sports facilities.

“Community residents can meet their daily needs of seeing a doctor， shopping， going to school， paying fees， leisure and entertainment，”Chen said. “In addition， there are libraries， parks for children and day care centers， all of which make it easier to live here.”

In the eco city， water resources have been recycled in various ways. Learning from the experience of Singapore， the eco city has built a rainwater collection system which collects rainwater from rooftops， road surfaces and parks all over the city. Each year， a total of 5.4 million cubic meters of rainwater is collected. The cooperation partners jointly established a water services company that built a reclaimed water plant with a daily replenishment capacity of 21，000 tons of water for urban essential services and landscaping. At present， the eco city has been listed as one of a second batch of national“sponge cities” （water saving cities）. Singapore's experience of Active， Beautiful， Clean Waters（ABC Waters） will prove a useful guide through this process.

Green Industry Drives Development

The development of cities cannot flourish without the support of local industries. The green economy is the core of the eco city. It is also a priority in the city's sustainable development.

With eight years of development already under its belt， the eco city has set an example in city-and-industry integration. The industries in the area are environmentally sustainable，oriented towards cultural creativity， “Internet+”technologies and elite support services.

“To encourage businesses to establish operations here， the eco city has launched a series of supportive policies，” said Luo Jiajun， deputy director of the Tianjin Eco City Management Committee. Companies in early stages of development can have access to various types of policy support， including one-stop examination and approval services， financing， office rental subsidies， certification fee waivers or exemptions，property fee waivers and talent support.

In 2015， the eco city attracted a large number of project clients， accelerating the development of its green economy. The cultural creativity industry is represented by Meituan Movies （an online movie ticket group purchase service provider） and Blue Focus （an intelligent integrated communication service provider）. “Internet+”companies include Storm Technology （an Internet video platform） and OurGame （an online card and board game service provider）. The elite service industry is represented by Yili Eco-Tourism Island （a new travel destination） and China's Low Carbon Demonstration Zone.

According to official statistics， by the first quarter of 2016， the eco city had accumulated more than 3，500 registered enterprises， with a cumulative registered capital of nearly 140 billion yuan （US$21.5 billion）. Seventy-seven enterprises pay an annual tax of more than 10 million yuan（US$1.5 million） each.

In an effort to help the public better understand ASEAN， an ASEAN Business Center is set to be built in Tianjin Eco City. The multi-functional center will feature a collection of regional foods， entertainment， shops， a gym and early childhood education.