East-West Lake in Huai Bin County

East-West Lake in Huai Bin County

East-West Lake in Huai Bin County is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

In recent years, Huai Bin County has fully seized the historical opportunity of accelerating urbanization, made full and effective use of national policies, and skillfully applied the "five forces" in urban construction to actively advance the urbanization process. To date, a total of 400 million yuan has been invested in construction funds, completing over 30 urban infrastructure projects, significantly enhancing urban functions and noticeably improving the city’s quality.

Leveraging external forces to accelerate urban development. By formulating preferential policies, the county attracted 80 million yuan in investment from outside the region, building the largest commercial trade city at the border of Henan and Anhui – the Southeastern Henan Trade City.

Tapping land potential to revitalize urban land assets. The county highly monopolized the primary land market. For state-owned land needed for construction, except where administrative allocation is required by law, all land was sold on a paid, market-oriented basis. The proceeds were entirely used for urban infrastructure construction.

Activating latent potential through the management of existing urban assets. By auctioning advertising rights for municipal facilities, naming rights for public utilities, and operation rights for bus routes, intangible assets were made tangible, adopting a paid usage approach. The naming rights for small islands in East-West Lake and some urban roads were openly auctioned, attracting investments of over 5 million yuan.

Mobilizing civil strength by adhering to the principle that the people build their own city. According to the principle of “direct benefit and reasonable sharing,” supporting projects for small urban infrastructures such as sidewalks and roadside greening were carried out with contributions from benefiting units or individuals along the streets. Private investment of 6 million yuan was attracted to complete projects such as the paving of colored bricks on the sidewalks of South Street and the construction of sewers in the county town.

Driving with project momentum to promote public welfare projects. Making full and effective use of national policies, efforts to secure projects and funding were intensified. Utilizing national bond projects, the new urban 50,000-ton waterworks project was developed and constructed, with the first phase already supplying water. Using national flood control support funds, the “Two Lakes and One Road” project was developed, transforming 3.5 square kilometers of low-lying land in the connecting zone between the old and new cities into a multi-functional East-West Lake scenic area integrating leisure, entertainment, water storage, aquaculture, and flood control.

From former swampland to today’s East-West Lake. Huai Bin County in Henan Province has greatly benefited from the management of the Huai River. The local government made rational use of the Huai River management projects, transforming what was once an overgrown, polluted wetland into the current East-West Lake scenic area. Fishermen have returned to their traditional livelihoods, residents paddle and play in the water, enjoy the scenery, and find joy in leisure.