Beijing to build 15 more leisure parks

Beijing plans to complete the construction of 15 urban leisure parks this year, covering more than 200 hectares, according to the municipal landscape and forestry authorities.

The parks are mainly distributed across the city's central districts, including Haidian, Chaoyang and Fengtai, and 10 parks are currently under construction or have already been completed. They will open to the public for free.

Yang Zhihua, director of the Urban Landscaping Section, Beijing Landscape and Forestry Bureau, said the leisure parks should be environmentally friendly, energy efficient and possess disaster prevention abilities. Well-designed community parks can better satisfy people's needs, provide them with more convenience and encourage them to undertake more outdoor activities.

In order to reduce maintenance costs, drought-tolerant plants, water permeable bricks, and solar energy lights have been used, Yang added.

By the end of the 12th Five-year plan (2011-2015), the green coverage rate of Beijing is expected to have gone up from 40 percent to 48 percent, and in 80 percent of residential areas, all homes will be within 500 meters of a green space.