Qihang Chen

Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court (Wikiwand 2021) In March 2022, Hangzhou Development and Reform Commission published an announcement titled "Implementation Suggestions on Further Accelerating the Construction of Photovoltaic Power Projects in the City". This document suggested that all companies, institutions and public facilities in Hangzhou should have solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities on their rooftops. This proposal aims to improve the city's self-sufficiency in electricity and contribute to the achievement of zero carbon emissions (Hangzhou Development and Reform Commission 2022) . The proposal was not well accepted. Although some local businesses have been trying to install solar PV roofs since this announcement was released, the first one that fulfilled all its requirements was the distributed solar PV project on the roof of the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court, completed in February 2023(Hangzhou News 2023). There are two possible reasons local bu...

Clusters of residential buildings(Fang 2019) A review of previous Posts (Vanke Future Sky City, Yunfan Future Community, Hangzhou West Railway Station) indicates that Hangzhou currently tends to build high-rise, high-density buildings to achieve sustainability. This may be since Hangzhou is presently densely populated, with a high demand for housing but a limited urban land space, thus requiring a more efficient land use approach. Also, for developers, higher residential density means more units available for sale, which usually results in higher profits. However, the proliferation of high-density housing in Hangzhou has brought several issues. The first is traffic congestion. Many residents in high-density residential zones have to commute through the city daily for work or study, which puts a lot of pressure on traffic routes, especially during peak commuting times. Secondly, there is a lack of community facilities. To increase the price, many developers make it a selling point for a...

Overlook of Hangzhou West Railway Station (Sohu 2021) The Hangzhou West Railway Station project is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by 2028. A total of seven skyscrapers will be constructed, the tallest of which will be 399 metres, and is expected to become the 'third centre' of Hangzhou and a central transport hub for the new district (Sohu 2021). These towers will be integrated with the new railway station in Hangzhou and available for office, hotel and tourist businesses. Furthermore, pedestrian plazas will be built around the railway station to allow citizens and tourists to shop and leisure. They will be linked to the city park on the north side to form a landmark TOD (Transit-oriented Development) complex for the city . The primary purpose of having so many high-rise buildings in one project is to maximise the land resources around the public transport hub and increase the density of the area. The next objective is to enhance the urban image an...

Hangzhou Urban Floodwall (Zhejiang Hydropower Construction and Installation Company) The People's Government of Hangzhou has adopted a series of defence and mitigation measures against natural disasters and has formed an effective disaster response system. The city's most frequent hazards are floods and typhoons. In response, the city government has built a large number of flood prevention and drainage projects and created green belts on both sides of rivers for ecological flood control. Furthermore, various climate and geological monitoring stations have been established to enhance the city's disaster prediction capabilities. The Hangzhou Emergency Management Bureau has successfully issued 12,736 weather risk forecasts and warnings for meteorological disasters until July 2021, leading citizens to avoid 2,720 hazardous situations. The accuracy rate of forecasted catastrophic weather reached 80%, with an advance of 35 minutes for warnings of sudden weather disasters such as ...

Water-saving irrigation (Hao 2021) The Hangzhou government has always spared no effort in conserving water and achieving water sustainability. According to the Hangzhou Water Conservation Implementation Plan (2020), there are three main water-saving measures being used: Dynamic water price adjustment for household water. The price of water for urban residents is regulated in a smart way so that water usage that exceeds a certain range is gradually increased in price and consumption can be restricted during shortages. Tiered recycling of industrial water. The government facilitated water-sharing contracts between companies to encourage the recycling of industrial water and the construction of related infrastructure. Water-efficient irrigation in agriculture. The government has subsidised rural areas to build efficient irrigation facilities in farming districts. These measures have delivered good outcomes, resulting in a decreased annual combined water consumption of 243.8 cubic metres p...

Rendering of the future community (People's Government of Hangzhou 2022) Yunfan Future Community will be the first construction project in Hangzhou to comply with the 'Near Zero Energy' standard. In 2019, the Hangzhou People's Government introduced the concept of "Future Community", and as the first new project under this concept, the construction of Yunfan Future Community started in 2021 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. The project adopts a series of innovative energy-saving technologies and is expected to achieve a comprehensive energy-saving rate of 76.93% and a renewable energy utilisation rate of 74.3% through both active and passive methods (People's Government of Hangzhou 2022). The project plays an important role in the sustainable development of Hangzhou and the achievement of the net zero emissions target. Firstly, it has a guiding function. As a new community led by the government, the Yunfan Future Community will provide a ...

Urban Green Space in Hangzhou ( Hangzhou Landscape Design Institute 2009) Hangzhou has been promoting an urban greening programme called "Forest City" since 2009. An ecological network of greenery with local characteristics is being realised by adding green belts to the local road and river network. Moreover, urban forests and wetlands have been built in some districts to form the ecological landscape and an urban greening coverage of 40.58% has been achieved by 2021 (National Forestry and Grassland Administration 2021). The project has brought benefits to the city in various respects, including promoting local tourism, attracting a cluster of industries related to forests, improving residents' living quality, and protecting the local ecological environment. My opinion is that there is real value in building green cities and Hangzhou has achieved significant results so far, but the focus can now be shifted from development to conservation and maintenance. One aspect is th...