This provincial capital in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province recently unveiled its short-term urban renewal plan.

According to the plan - effective from now through 2020 - a major public centre, five auxiliary centers, 23 communities and eight large-scale parks will be developed by 2020.

Daoli and Nangang districts, which are the most prosperous parts in the city centre, will become major finance and business hubs.

The other five centers will surround the major one and highlight the functions of education, administration, scientific research and entertainment respectively.

With an urban population of nearly 3.5 million and an area of nearly 300 square kilometers, Harbin is already one of the largest cities in northeast China, only second to Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province.

The two numbers will likely be expanded to 4.6 million and 458 square kilometers in 2020, the plan predicted.

"The current city structure needs to be optimized to accommodate the future development of the city," Liu Wei, a senior engineer from the Harbin Urban Planning Institute, told China Daily.

"Thus, a plan should be worked out to regulate or give guidance for future urban construction," she said, adding that "a design of multiple centers could help each district of Harbin to develop in terms of its own characteristics and strength.

"The plan also takes into consideration alleviating the transportation pressure on some traffic pivots in the city," she said.

Starting from the beginning of this year, the municipal government will launch an overall survey on the condition of the city's current infrastructure.

This is the first time for the city to have a thorough survey of its infrastructure since 1949.

The survey covers six major areas: energy, water supply and drainage, transportation, communications, environment, and calamity prevention.

All the urban area is covered and 28 aspects, such as roads, bridges, squares, park places, tunnels, water pipelines, will be closely checked to get the necessary data for the urban planning.

The plan also combines the development of new areas with the renovation of living places in some old districts.

By 2020, the living space in Harbin will exceed 160 million square meters and per capita living space is expected to reach 35 square meters.

As a city noted for its long history and exotic architectural styles, Harbin will also strengthen its preservation of 12 streets with rich culture and history.

(China Daily January 4, 2005)