All urban hiking trails in Dalian, Liaoning will be interconnected within the year

 

　　The 11th Municipal Party Congress creatively established the development strategy of "building the city through quality," proposing to "create an environmental system that combines ecological vegetation, green corridors, and blue shorelines, and build an ecologically beautiful and picturesque livable city." Li Jingye, a member of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that the successful experiences of developed countries and regions in advancing the construction of greenway networks that integrate multiple functions such as environmental protection, sports, leisure, and tourism are worth learning from.

　　A greenway is a linear green open space, usually established along natural and artificial corridors such as riverbanks, valleys, ridgelines, and scenic roads. It includes landscape routes for pedestrians and cyclists, connecting major parks, nature reserves, scenic spots, historical sites, and urban and rural residential areas. This helps better protect and utilize natural and cultural historical resources while providing residents with ample recreational and social spaces.

　　A greenway network is a web-like system of green open spaces composed of numerous regional, urban, and community greenways. Planning and constructing a Dalian greenway network is conducive to protecting the ecological environment, improving urban functionality, transforming development methods, and expanding urban development space.

　　The Municipal Urban Construction Bureau stated that the construction of the greenway network requires planning first. Currently, the basis for implementing urban greening in the city is the "Dalian Urban Green Space System Plan (2009–2020)," developed by the Planning Bureau based on the "Dalian Urban Master Plan (2000–2020)."

　　The structural model for the layout of the green space system in the urban core area has already been defined as "one belt, two zones, three axes, four cores, with green corridors and green surfaces forming a connected network." The green corridors are similar in concept to greenways. As early as 2009, the Municipal Urban Construction Bureau began including the greening of primary and secondary urban roads in the city’s key greening projects for that year. To date, comprehensive replanting of street trees has been carried out on over forty main roads, and the greenery on both sides has been enriched and improved, aiming to gradually form an urban road green corridor network using the main roads as the framework.

　　In addition, in response to the growing conflict between the gradual saturation of green spaces in the urban core and the increasing demand for leisure, fitness, and sightseeing among residents, the Urban Construction Bureau has been systematically and step-by-step constructing hiking trails integrating functions such as fire prevention, fitness, and leisure on suitable hills across the city since 2009. Currently, this project has basically formed a complete network within each district, resembling a natural oxygen bar. In the second half of the year, the Urban Construction Bureau will also clear connection points between road networks within districts and between road networks and parks, striving to create a fully connected mountain trail network in Dalian. This report was written by Li Hui, a reporter from Peninsula Morning Post and Haili Net.

　　The greenway networks built in developed countries and regions have delivered significant ecological, social, economic, and cultural benefits. The United States is the country with the earliest and most mature experience in greenway construction. Its East Coast Greenway, stretching approximately 4,500 kilometers, is the first greenway in the U.S. to integrate leisure, outdoor activities, and cultural heritage tourism. It has generated about $16.6 billion in tourism revenue for the states along the route, benefiting over 38 million residents.

　　Domestically, in early 2010, Guangdong Province formulated the "Pearl River Delta Greenway Network Master Plan Outline." By the end of 2010, the greenway network in the Pearl River Delta had been fully connected. Cities in the region had cumulatively completed 2,372 kilometers of greenways, added 1,572 kilometers of new greenery along the routes, and built 161 rest stops and service stations. Initial supporting facilities such as parking lots, bicycle rentals, catering, sanitation, and security services were also provided.