Qingdao aims to construct a green, convenient and highly livable city. [Photo/VCG]

The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province is stepping up efforts to build more pocket parks so as to ensure local residents have more access to green space and make the city greener and more environmentally friendly, according to local officials.

Pocket parks refers to small outdoor public spaces covering an area of 400 to 10,000 square meters. A pocket park is a small area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for recreation, enjoyment and to provide some greenery.

From 2017 to 2021, the city built 350 pocket parks. From 2022 to 2024, Qingdao plans to build 130 pocket parks, of which 49 have been completed so far.

Children play at a community pocket park in Qingdao. [Photo/Qingdao News]

Walking in the pocket park on Xinzhuo Road in Qingdao's Laoshan district, people can enjoy sculptures, flowers and trees, cultural demonstration walls, exercise equipment and playground structures.

"It used to be an empty lot, but since the pocket park was built in September, the neighborhood has gained popularity as more nearby residents choose to spend their leisure time here," said a local resident surnamed Sun.

As a supplement to traditional parks in cities, pocket parks provide more convenient and efficient places for citizens to enjoy leisure activities, and they play an important role in improving citizens' quality of life, and are conducive to the healthy development of residents' physical and mental health, said a local official, adding that Qingdao will make more efforts to construct a green, convenient and highly livable city.