A heavily-invested project broke ground Monday to build a park in
downtown Beijing, according to sources.
The park, named Huangchenggen Site Park, will be located between
the Forbidden City, or the Imperial Palace, and the Wangfujing
Street, the busiest commercial street in Beijing.
About 2.8 kilometers long and 29 meters wide, the park will cross
Beijing's most prosperous downtown area from north to south,
sources said.
The project will cost an enormous investment of 850 million yuan
(about US$102 million), a large proportion of which will be used to
compensate the 900 households of residents and 270 units that have
to move to other places.
Myriad trees, flowers, and a large area of grass will be grown in
the park, where many special scenes will also be created, according
to local officials.
Beijing used to be composed of three cities, namely the Forbidden
City, then the Imperial City and the Outer City. The park will just
lie along the site of the eastern walls of the Imperial City, which
have long since been toppled.
The park will make people reminiscent of the Imperial city and help
the cultural heritage to pass on, said Chenping, director of the
Eastern District of Beijing.
The project is expected to conclude before this October, according
to sources.
(People’s Daily 04/03/2001)