The beauty and beauty of Suzhou—a paradise on earth that respects nature and green development

Suzhou Garden Museum

In October 1938, social anthropologist Malinowski wrote a preface to student Fei Xiaotong’s new book in London. After reading the story of the small village by Taihu Lake, he lamented that "the plains crisscrossed by waterways have been a place that has nurtured the Chinese people both materially and spiritually for thousands of years."

This book "Jiangcun Economy - The Life of Chinese Peasants" and the "native China" behind it have left a distinct mark on Fei Xiaotong. In the magnificent wave of urbanization, his hometown Suzhou has undergone earth-shaking changes, but its "criss-crossing waterways" have not changed so far. Rivers and lakes run through urban and rural areas, flowing quietly with time.

It is not only a representative of the Jiangnan water town, known as the "Paradise on Earth", but also has more than 160,000 industrial enterprises and is known as the "Manufacturing Capital". How does Suzhou scientifically layout production, living and ecological spaces? Successive leaders have successively solved the problem: the mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands have shifted from single governance to overall conservation; cities and villages have shifted from dual structures to coordinated development; industry and the environment have moved from contradictions and opposition to comprehensive governance.

All of this is just as Fei Xiaotong said: Everyone has their own beauty, beauty and beauty are the same.

(Subtitle) "The river in memory" flows back again

The real name of "Jiangcun" is Kaixiangong Village, so named because the river in the village is shaped like a curved bow. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was one of the most developed villages in China. The water quality is good and water transportation is convenient. Villagers raise silkworms and grow rice. In good times, more than 100 ships carry cocoons and raw silk to Shanghai and other places every day. After a hundred years, Wujiang County, where the village belongs, has been transformed into Wujiang District. Roads, houses, etc. have been given new looks. In 2019, the per capita disposable income of villagers was close to 36,000 yuan.

How far the arrow flies depends on the tension of the bow. The river is the bow that propels "Jiangcun" forward. Shen Bin, secretary of the village party committee, said that to achieve high standards to enrich the people and strengthen the village, there is no other choice but to do a good job in "water articles". Wujiang has been included in the Yangtze River Delta ecological green integrated development demonstration zone to explore new paths for ecological civilization and economic and social development to complement each other.

Kaixiangong Village was once "lost": rice and mulberry trees were abandoned, farmland was transferred to outsiders to raise crabs, and small factories that processed woolen sweaters and curtain fabrics discharged sewage at will. After learning from the painful experience, the crab ponds were returned to farmland, "low and weak" enterprises were rectified, and parent-child study and rural tourism projects were designed based on "Fei Xiaotong's 26 visits" to rejuvenate the Jiangnan water town.

This is also a microcosm of the relationship between Suzhou and water.

Suzhou borders Taihu Lake to the southwest, the Yangtze River to the north, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal running from north to south. It has more than 20,000 rivers and nearly 400 lakes. Water is the soul of Suzhou, giving this 2,500-year-old city inexhaustible momentum: as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, the shipbuilding industry of Wu State flourished; since the Han Dynasty, farming and water conservancy projects have been established, allowing agricultural production in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in Suzhou, to gradually catch up with the north; During the Sui Dynasty, the Grand Canal extended to Suzhou to develop water transportation; during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it reached a period of prosperity and a complete urban group and market system was formed in the Jiangnan region, with Suzhou being the center of the entire system.

However, with the rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization, the contradiction between Suzhou's large population and economic aggregate and its small environmental capacity and strong ecological sensitivity has become increasingly prominent. People and water have competed for land and urban water has been separated. In this situation, excessive sewage discharge, lake reclamation, and river encroachment are common. In 2014, the city's wastewater discharge peaked at 1.4 billion tons, and in 2016, 932 black and smelly water bodies were detected.

Only by retaining the "land of plenty" can we match the "paradise on earth". Suzhou continues to make efforts to manage the water environment, restore water ecology, and improve water security. As of the end of 2019, a total of 9.3 billion yuan in ecological compensation funds had been invested, and compensation had been implemented for 999,000 acres of rice fields, 305,400 acres of ecological public welfare forests, 140 wetland villages, 56 water source villages, and 102,600 acres of scenic spots.

"Smart Water Suzhou" is a key project to improve the systematic and scientific nature of water management. Chen Xiqing, director of the Suzhou Municipal Water Affairs Bureau, said that due to the large water surface and many rivers and lakes, there has always been a contradiction between the demand for management power.

"Smart Water Suzhou" promotes the sharing of data from meteorology, hydrology, public security, housing construction, urban management, environmental protection, transportation, emergency and other departments, opens up "information islands", and improves sensing and simulation, decision-making and early warning, dispatching and control capabilities. Realize "all-weather perception, full business coverage, and monitoring of the entire process."

Pingjiang River is located in the core area of ??the ancient city. When Wu Zixu built Suzhou City, it was positioned as the main waterway. Today, there are many shops on both sides of the river and there are many tourists. The pollution was so serious before that the eight cleaning staff salvaged an average of more than 500 kilograms of white garbage every day. "Smart Water Suzhou" realizes 24-hour real-time duty and captures uncivilized behaviors, effectively solving the problem of difficulty in law enforcement and evidence collection.

84-year-old Ge Jincai lamented that when he was a child, the Pingjiang River was so clear that you could jump in to swim and catch fish. After two years of renovation, I can see the "river of memory" flowing back.

The characteristics of rivers and lakes being connected and cities and waters interdependent determine that the management of rivers and lakes requires coordination between upstream and downstream, and governance on the left and right banks. Suzhou, together with Zhejiang, Shanghai and Wuxi in the province, has explored the implementation of the "joint river chief system" to break down administrative regional barriers and prepare governance plans based on the natural attributes of rivers and lakes, solving a number of problems, such as Qingxi River at the junction with Jiaxing. The two places worked together to remove more than 40 years of silt in just a few months.

In the golden autumn of October, "thousands of waves of rice and rice" are a unique scenery in Suzhou. The “Four Million Mu” project (1 million mu each of high-quality rice, efficient horticulture, specialty aquatic products, and ecological woodland) implemented in 2012 has transformed the rice area from declining year by year to stabilizing at more than one million mu, and has also taken on the responsibility of "The kidneys of the city". Many party and government leaders in Suzhou mentioned that if we simply calculate the economic calculation, growing rice is obviously not cost-effective, but it can optimize the ecological environment, highlight the characteristics of a land of plenty, and ensure green and sustainable development. In the long run, it is "worth it".

The road is long and difficult, but the road is approaching. In 2019, Suzhou's 16 national examination sections and 50 provincial examination sections had an excellent III rate, which was 12.5 and 22 percentage points higher than in 2016 respectively. It passed the water ecological civilization construction pilot city and water-saving city review with the highest scores in the country. As of the first half of this year, all black and smelly water bodies in urban and rural areas have been renovated. The Suzhou Ecological Conservation Development Experimental Zone is planned to be basically completed in 2025 and fully completed in 2035.

"When you come to Gusu, all the people are sleeping on the river." The scenery described by Du Xunhe, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, can still be found everywhere today: Zhouzhuang, Jinxi and other ancient towns, with small bridges and flowing water and people's homes; in the ancient city District, the moat is rippling under the weeping willows; even the modern Suzhou Industrial Park, which leads the country's economic development zones in comprehensive strength, is also surrounded by the light and water of Jinji Lake and Dushu Lake.

Water is a landscape element, an economic element, and even a cultural element of the city. Suzhou has 2,224 water cultural heritage sites, accounting for 42% of the total in Jiangsu Province, including water conservancy projects such as dams and bridges built before 1950, as well as ancient wells, inscriptions and other relics. In every important water affairs and water conservancy plan in Suzhou, "promoting water culture" is highlighted, emphasizing the continuation of the historical texture and spatial pattern of urban water relations, exploring the spiritual value of water culture, and enhancing citizens' sense of cultural identity and belonging.

It took fifteen years, relocated dozens of households, and cost more than 20 million yuan. This was the cost Suzhou paid to restore the 607-meter-long Zhongzhangjia Alley River. It is located in the Pingjiang historical and cultural area and was once one of the main channels leading directly to the moat from the center of the ancient city. Half a century ago, Suzhou's urban population increased dramatically. In order to meet the need for land to build new schools and new factories, the Zhongzhangjiaxiang River and other urban rivers were filled in.

Along the Zhongzhangjiaxiang River are the Pingtan Museum, the Kunqu Opera Museum, and the former residence of Liu Yazi, giving you an unobstructed view of the Jiangnan charm. Xu Gangyi, a scholar of Suzhou literature and history, said that "water and land are adjacent, and rivers and streets run parallel" are the characteristics of Suzhou. After restoration, rivers, houses, river bridges, revetments, etc. have become carriers of activated and inherited water culture, "not only connecting the Pingjiang area The water system also connects the cultural attractions along the line. In Suzhou, retaining the water veins will retain the cultural context. ”

The developed water transportation system and the warm charm of the water town contain continuous development. kinetic energy. Due to the Grand Canal, Suzhou has gradually become a prosperous place where merchants gather. Today, nearly half of the freight volume is still carried by waterways. Since the beginning of this year, the night economy of "Suzhou's eight-thirty comfortable night" has been launched, and the "Grand Canal Urban Entertainment Consumption Corridor" has regained the memory of the canal and recreated the canal scenery. The ancient canal became lively, allowing everyone to hear the pulse of the river's new life.

Xu Kunlin, member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee, said that efforts should be made to build the Suzhou section into the "most exciting section" of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, promote the in-depth integration of "culture + tourism", and enhance tourism with culture The connotation is to use tourism to promote cultural consumption, promote the integration of culture, ecology and tourism functions, and promote the development of "culture + creativity" to make the cultural and creative industry bigger and stronger.

Zhangjiagang, Changshu and Taicang are the three cities along the Yangtze River in Suzhou, contributing 1/6 of the total economic output, 1/6 of the total industrial output value, 1/3 of the total import and export volume and 1/3 of the total import and export volume of the cities along the Jiangsu River. /3 of the port throughput, it is also a key area for pollution control and ecological restoration. Taking Zhangjiagang as an example, it invested 3.76 billion yuan to fully adjust the 9 kilometers of production coastline into an ecological coastline and vacated 4 square kilometers of planned industrial land.

Before the Yangtze River enters the sea, it turns the last bend in Zhangjiagang. A more than 30-meter-high maritime building on the shore of Zhangjiagang Bay has been transformed into a carp-shaped observation deck. From here, you can overlook the Yangtze River, with the river wind blowing in your face and the water and sky being the same color. You can see the scenery, and you can also see a bright future.

(Subtitle) Adding green is the most intuitive manifestation of white space

As the director of the Suzhou Garden Museum, Xue Zhijian has walked into the Humble Administrator’s Garden countless times, but this year’s experience was unprecedented— -During the epidemic prevention and control period, he walked alone in the garden. He was shocked by the construction wisdom of the ancients and immersed in the beauty of the natural landscape. "Time and space seemed to be suspended, and I felt the magic of the integration of nature and city. White space is the characteristic of Suzhou gardens." , the garden also gives us spiritual blank space. ”

Many courtyards in the Humble Administrator’s Garden are set against the background of white walls, embellished with a few bamboos and stones, leaving more or less blank space; The new Suzhou Museum not far away uses white as the main color of the building, supplemented by appropriate amounts of black and gray, just like the line drawings of Chinese paintings.

Such a blank style has also been deeply rooted in Suzhou’s overall urban planning concept: since the “13th Five-Year Plan”, 14.5 million square meters of green space have been added or renovated in the urban area, and the green space rate in urban built-up areas 37.54%, the green coverage rate is 42.32%, and the per capita park green space area is 12.82 square meters.

Although the intensity of land development is becoming increasingly tense, Suzhou’s investment in public green spaces and open parks has not decreased but has increased. It proposes to “continue to build large green spaces and increase the per capita park green space area to 15.5 square meters by 2035.” "Through the implementation of the Hundred Gardens Project, green spaces have been added to the ancient city. Citizens can now walk 350 to 500 meters away to enter a green space.

Suzhou’s “green road” has not been smooth. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Suzhou's economy developed rapidly, but it neglected ecological green construction. It once ranked at the bottom of the province in relevant assessments. Later, it strengthened political awareness and enacted legislation to promote green development, and its planning positioning was two percentage points higher than the national standard. Since then, the urban landscape of “a garden in a city, a city in a garden” has become increasingly perfect.

"Greening is the most intuitive manifestation of white space." Shao Lei, deputy director of the Suzhou Municipal Garden and Greening Administration, said that as the concept of ecological civilization becomes more and more popular, urban construction places more emphasis on respecting nature. , conform to nature and protect nature. As an important carrier of urban ecological environment construction, green space needs to absorb the latest ecological civilization concepts and carry out ecological restoration work to improve livability.

With the chirping of birds and the fragrant vegetation, you will feel peaceful and elegant in Kunshan's Urban Ecological Forest Park, as if you are isolated from the surrounding high-rise buildings and busy traffic. In fact, the park is less than 4 kilometers away from the city center. The relevant person in charge of Kunshan City said that there is an international theory of "green sight rate", that is, the proportion of green plants in the things people see represents the level of urban greening. Suzhou's "green vision rate" is in the process of continuous improvement. This park in Kunshan alone covers an area of ??more than 3,100 acres.

Taicang is included in the 2019 list of national ecological garden cities announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. So far, Suzhou and its four counties and cities have all received this honor, becoming the first district city in the country to be fully covered by national ecological garden cities, and the first to build a "national ecological garden city cluster".

A path hugs the secluded mountain, actually between the cities. The urban area of ??Suzhou is full of greenery, and the countryside is even more "deep green".

Close to the vast Taihu Lake, nearly 400 farmhouses are scattered in the embrace of green hills, with a green coverage rate of 98% and an average negative oxygen ion level of 2,200 per cubic centimeter - Shushan Village is known as outside the city of Suzhou The "Utopia" received more than 32,400 tourists during the National Day holiday this year. Chen Jing, the owner of the "Here·Shushan" B&B, said that during the holidays, the price of a single room per night exceeds 1,000 yuan, and it is still difficult to find a room.

"You can see the greenery when you open the window, you can see the mountains and rivers, and you can send your nostalgia." Village planner Peng Rui comes from Suzhou University of Science and Technology. Since 2012, he and his team have taken root in Shushan and witnessed the booming rural tourism in the world. process. He said that Shushan Village is located in the Suzhou High-tech Zone, where there are many companies and the pace is extremely fast. The original ecological village is like a "soothing device" embedded in it, which allows the farming culture and industrial civilization to be organically combined and adjusts the tight shape of the city. The silent "psychological blank" that moisturizes things.

Jijiadun Village, Jinxi Town, Kunshan is also an "Internet celebrity check-in point" and is surrounded by rice fields. Dense camphor trees are the natural dividing line between farmland and cottages, and two or three waterways pass through the village. Relying on the resources of "water garden and field dwelling" and the characteristic culture of "kiln", "water" and "farming", it was selected as "China's Beautiful Leisure Village in 2020", attracting tourists and literary and artistic people.

Before the development of Jijiadun Village, most young people went out to work, and basically only the elderly remained in the village. Now not only the locals are back, but also young people from all over the world are attracted. Lu Gang is from Linyi, Shandong. After graduating from university, he worked in the hotel industry in Beijing and Shanghai. In 2019, he joined a B&B in Jijiadun through a friend’s introduction. He lamented that Jijiadun integrated architectural facilities with rural features, providing urban conveniences while retaining the natural comfort of the countryside.

Wang Tao, the owner of "Tao Lu Man Life Art Space", is from Chengdu and previously worked in the media. In order to let her children have better contact with nature, she came to Suzhou to start a business. Here every day when you open the window, you can see the river, hear the crow of geese, smell the fragrance of flowers, and feel that the pace of life has slowed down. "The brand created by Jijiadun is called 'Ideal Village'. In such an environment, my children grow up and I work." , It really brings the ideal into reality."

The village is becoming more and more popular. The ducks and geese in the village are "well-informed" and are not nervous when seeing pedestrians. Walk leisurely. This is an ideal village, where people and animals can find their own place and enjoy themselves.

(Subtitle) Do a good job in addition and subtraction to meet "new needs"

There is a tidal flat protruding into the river in the Changshu section of the Yangtze River. It used to be very desolate, with only some sparse reeds. The surrounding river water is turbid. The sandbar is rusty in color, hence the name "Iron Yellow Sand". In November 2019, the appearance of the bald crane, a national first-level protected animal, became big news here. This is an endangered and rare animal in my country that has never been seen in Suzhou before. "It shows that the current environment is very good and it is a very suitable habitat." said Zhou Minjun, a bird investigator at the Suzhou Wetland Nature School.

The significant improvement in ecological quality is behind Changshu’s painful decision. During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, the local government invested 1.6 billion yuan in preliminary renovations to prepare to build Tiehuangsha into a logistics base. However, in order to implement the requirements of "Major Protection of the Yangtze River", the development plan was decisively adjusted and changed to a building integrating tourism, leisure and vacation. An ecological island in the Yangtze River. At present, there are more than 7,000 acres of naturally growing plant communities on the island. It has both a breeding and migration channel for fish in the Yangtze River and an artificially isolated migratory bird sanctuary, which has become an important part of the Yangtze River Green Corridor.

In order to realize the harmonious development of the city and nature, Suzhou spares no effort to "make subtractions". Since 2017, more than 50,000 messy and polluting enterprises (workshops) have been rectified. The combined annual output value of these enterprises exceeds 6 billion yuan and the tax revenue exceeds 100 million yuan. "The number is not small, but for a better ecology, it is worth paying the price, which shows the determination to break with the traditional model!" The relevant person in charge of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee said that the limited space should be reserved for more valuable and effective projects, and the Clearer water and bluer skies will be left to future generations.

Relevant people believe that Suzhou has always been a "top student" in economic and social development, an old model and an old advanced. However, on the other hand, there is also a "model dispute" because as the core city of the southern Jiangsu model , will be habitually understood as a representative of traditional development methods. How to upgrade from a pacesetter of high-speed development to a benchmark of high-quality development is a must-answer question for everyone in Suzhou.

Township enterprises, mainly engaged in textiles, steel, metallurgy, etc., have made contributions to Suzhou, but the limitations of dispersed layout, low utilization intensity, and low output efficiency have become increasingly prominent. Yu Zhenwu, director of the Rights and Interests Department of Suzhou Municipal Resource Planning Bureau, analyzed the "28th effect", that is, industrial land with high output efficiency accounts for about 20% of the total, creating 80% of tax revenue, and the other 80% of industrial land contributes to tax revenue. Only 20%.

In order to promote the development of industrial agglomeration, centralized optimization of layout, and efficient allocation of resources, Suzhou launched the "Double Hundred" campaign of industrial land at the beginning of this year. Delineate 1 million acres of industrial and productive R&D land guarantee lines, and achieve the renewal of 100 square kilometers of industrial land in five years. We need space from inefficient land and benefits from existing land. We plan to increase the average tax revenue per mu of industrial land by more than 30% by 2024, significantly narrowing the gap with advanced cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen. "The essence is to turn the 'smoke in every village' structure into a reasonable, efficient and sustainable model, and fully implement the new development concept." Yu Zhenwu said.

Out of the low-end and into the high-end, doing both subtraction and addition, Suzhou Dialectical strives to increase the new content and gold content of the industry. "As long as it is an industry that is in line with Suzhou's future development positioning, we will welcome it, and the land will be guaranteed. As much land as you need, and as much space as you need!" Suzhou made such a "high-profile" statement at the Opening Restart Conference earlier this year.

The latest data from the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics confirms the effect of industrial transformation: in the first three quarters of this year, Suzhou's high-tech industry achieved an output value of 895.9 billion yuan, accounting for 36.2% of the total industrial output value above designated size, and the output value increased by 4.4% year-on-year. . The strategic emerging industries achieved an output value of 1.0678 billion yuan, accounting for 43.2% of the city’s total industrial output value above designated size, a year-on-year increase of 5.1 percentage points. There were 23 new listed companies, bringing the total to 175, ranking fifth among large and medium-sized cities nationwide; there were 18 companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, ranking third among large and medium-sized cities nationwide.

The Fumin Industrial Zone of Xiangcheng District High-speed Railway New Town has completely eliminated 11 high-energy-consuming and high-polluting enterprises involving daily chemicals, small chemicals, and printing. JD.com's global R&D center project will be launched here, with an investment of approximately 9 billion yuan, to create a "smart town" with domestically leading and world-class new economic infrastructure.

Wujiang Development Zone "discuss heroes" based on yield per acre, targeting Fortune 500 companies, leading central and state-owned enterprises, and listed companies with independent intellectual property rights and high value-added terminal products to enhance the regional economic density and quality. Focus on building a high-tech industrial structure, improve the industrial chain, optimize the innovation chain, and create an ecological chain.

Zhangjiagang Dongsha Chemical Industry Park was built in 1993. It was once a major local taxpayer, but its industrial level is low, pollution emissions are high, and safety hazards are high. After unremitting efforts, the shutdown and pollution control were fully completed, 3,000 acres of land were freed up, and a new park was re-planned to create a coordinated development of production and ecology.

Nearly 50 companies settle in Taicang Biomedical Industrial Park every year, including many related companies from Beijing, Shanghai and the Pearl River Delta. Starting from 2020, it is planned to use 3 years to build a 1 million square meter carrier, generate an output value of 10 billion yuan, bring in 20 billion yuan of effective investment, and gather 200 high-quality enterprises.

In addition to industrial transformation and upgrading, Suzhou also fully exploits the advantages of ecological characteristics and creates new formats that deeply integrate the cultural tourism industry.

During this year’s National Day holiday, "Four Seasons Zhouzhuang" performed 14 times, with more than 13,000 guests and ticket sales exceeding 1.2 million yuan. As my country's first real-life waterside performance of Jiangnan's original ecological culture, almost every venue has been sold out since 2007. Xu Yulian, director of the Propaganda Department of the Kunshan Municipal Party Committee, said that this illustrates the broad space of the cultural tourism market and vividly proves that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

Tongli Ancient Town, which is close to Zhouzhuang, normally welcomes five to six thousand tourists every day, and there are more than 10,000 community residents in the scenic area. The two groups do not interfere with each other. "The scenic spot and the community are integrated, and the indigenous people are also part of the scenery, showing the authentic water town lifestyle." Xue Run, deputy general manager of Tongli International Tourism Development Co., Ltd., said that the scenic spot uses part of the revenue from tourism tickets every year as the maintenance and repair of ancient buildings funds, and operate cultural and creative shops and B&Bs in line with the business format of the ancient town and on the basis of protecting the appearance of the water town.

Malinowski believed that culture profoundly changes the innate endowments of human beings. “Culture creates new needs in meeting human needs. This is probably the greatest creativity of culture and the relationship between human beings.” The key to progress”. So, what exactly are the “new needs” of modern people?

Liang Shiqiu wrote in "The Streets of Peiping": "There is no shopping in Peiping... If you want to take a walk, go to the Park Beihai Taimiao Jingshan." Shopping in the park was a common thing in that era. Be patient with nature and be willing to take time to appreciate its changes. Like Suzhou, more and more cities are working hard to repair, close, and maintain their relationship with nature and create a more livable environment, which is a great response to new needs.