With a cityscape that is all cranes and thrusting new towerblocks, Tianjin Eco-city could at first glance be any of the hundreds of urban areas in China expanding at a breathless pace.
But this joint Chinese-Singaporean project, which was started in 2008 and will be finished in 2020, aims to be something very different from the norm: a model for more sustainable development in a country urbanising at a pace unprecedented in history.
"With rapid urbanisation, there will be new cities being built. When you’re building new cities you start by going for principles of sustainability,” says the project’s chief executive, Ho Tong Yen, a Singaporean diplomat and government official.
Small wind turbines and solar panels power street lamps, a vacuum system collects waste and buildings are oriented to maximise exposure to sunlight, reducing heating and lighting costs. Ultimately, officials hope 20 per cent of the energy used will come from renewable sources, which, says Mr Ho, is “what a Chinese city can aim for given the technology”.
The project is built on formerly polluted wetland cleaned up using patented technology and the natural habitats have been preserved, forming the centrepiece of a park.
In overall charge is Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co. The Chinese side has contributed 2 billion yuan in land, while the same amount of private-sector investment has come from the Singaporean partner, Keppel Corporation. The project has attracted a further 50bn yuan of investment.
Ultimately, Mr Ho is optimistic the eco-city’s approach will be adopted in other parts of China and overseas.
"There are huge numbers of visitors that come through Tianjin Eco-city. They look at what we’re doing …”
Mr Ho says the project’s eco-friendly features can be included in new developments “at almost no cost”.
Environmental campaigners, too, hope Chinese cities will do more to encourage sustainability. Tom Wang, a spokesperson for Greenpeace in China, says it will be “very interesting to see what lessons can be learned” from projects such as the eco-city. “It’s really urgent for China to see how it can accommodate all these [growing] cities without having to sacrifice the environment,” he says.
“It will be good if showcase practices can be drawn from these pilots and really see how China can cope with rapid urbanisation, especially in the central and western parts of China.”
Ground-breaking took place in 2008 and about 200 families have already moved in to a development that will ultimately cover 30 square kilometres, equivalent to about half the size of Manhattan. By the end of this year the population will have swelled to 10,000, while on completion there will be space for about 350,000 people.
Already about 3,000 to 4,000 people work there and a series of factories are operating, along with a vast animation centre, typical of the low environmental-impact businesses the project aims to provide a home to. Multinationals such as Siemens and Philips will also have offices there.
Small wind turbines and solar panels power street lamps, a vacuum system collects waste and buildings are oriented to maximise exposure to sunlight, reducing heating and lighting costs. Ultimately, officials hope 20 per cent of the energy used will come from renewable sources, which, says Mr Ho, is “what a Chinese city can aim for given the technology”.
"These are concepts that are very easily replicable in China,” he says. “Green homes are not necessarily expensive homes.”
The project is built on formerly polluted wetland cleaned up using patented technology and the natural habitats have been preserved, forming the centrepiece of a park.
In overall charge is Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co. The Chinese side has contributed 2 billion yuan in land, while the same amount of private-sector investment has come from the Singaporean partner, Keppel Corporation. The project has attracted a further 50bn yuan of investment.
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With a cityscape that is all cranes and thrusting new towerblocks, Tianjin Eco-city could at first glance be any of the hundreds of urban areas in China expanding at a breathless pace. 
