Qingdao in East China's Shandong province adheres to a "people-oriented" philosophy to improve the wellbeing of residents and enhance their quality of life. [Photo/WeChat account: opinionline]

Quality of life put first through ecological, infrastructure and care service efforts

In accordance with Qingdao's three-year action plan to comprehensively revamp and renovate, the city in East China's Shandong province is adhering to a "people-oriented" philosophy to improve the wellbeing of residents and enhance their quality of life.

Qingdao had planned to launch 130 projects over 2023, with a total planned investment of some 5.96 billion yuan ($832 million). To date, it has finished the construction of 76 kilometers of coastal greenways, 60 pocket parks, nine comprehensive parks and 30 treelined corridors. The city has preserved 105 ancient trees, planted 507 hectares of forest and improved the quality of 1,333 hectares of forests. Construction of a park city will make the urban environment greener and more livable, and enhance people's sense of gain and happiness.

From January to October, the average concentration of PM2.5 particulate matter in the city was 26 micrograms per cubic meter, and the PM10 concentration was 54 micrograms per cubic meter. Qingdao's comprehensive air quality index ranks among the top three in Shandong province, and the city launched 50 key water pollution prevention and control projects throughout the year. It has also completed construction of an urban operating management service platform that includes 10 systems and 34 specialized application scenarios. The platform has handled 8.39 million urban management problems, with a case closure rate of 99.89 percent.

In the coming months, the city plans to complete more than 30 unfinished road projects. The total length of highways in Qingdao currently stands at 15,458 km, including 892 km of expressways. There are also 12 railways in operation, covering 666 km, which include 228 km of high-speed lines.

In other initiatives, Qingdao is transforming old residential areas by constructing roads and parking facilities and improving the living environment. It plans to renovate 473 old residential areas, with a total construction area of 11.09 million square meters, benefiting 137,700 households. To date, 394 residential areas have been completed.

The city has also built 174 provincial-level demonstration villages and 700 city-level demonstration villages in rural areas. One example is Malianzhuang town in Laixi city, which has upgraded its 5-km road network and replaced its water pipelines. The renovation of the road section connecting to the expressway has greatly increased the attractiveness of the town for investment.

This year, Qingdao introduced a project led by Beijing-based Csd Water Service, with a total investment of 1 billion yuan, which will be a large green energy treatment center.

Currently, the city has 289 institutions that combine medical services with elder care, as well as 142 comprehensive elder care service centers. It has built 985 senior dining institutions and provided meal assistance services to 950,000 elderly residents this year.

Tangdaowan Park in the Qingdao West Coast New Area. [Photo by Tang Jiajun/Qingdao Daily]

A group wedding ceremony is held at the century-old Zhanqiao Pier in Shinan district of Qingdao, Shandong province on Sunday. [Photo by Wang Haibin/for chinadaily.com.cn]