The coastal city of Qingdao in East China's Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

This year, Qingdao in East China's Shandong province plans to build 100 public parking lots, adding over 20,000 new parking spaces, which will promote the city's urban renewal and transformation.

Local authorities have said that a total of 100 public parking lot projects will be implemented this year, creating around 20,000 new public parking spaces.

Badaxia Square is an important fitness square in the old western district of the city's Shinan district, with three sides facing the sea and overlooking the sea from across the Zhanqiao Pier, an iconic scenic area in Qingdao. Although Badaxia Square is ideally located, there are not enough parking spaces to meet demands of tourists and locals.

The construction of the underground parking lot project of Badaxia Square was launched last year to alleviate parking pressure in this area, increase the supply of parking spaces for tourism, and improve the environmental quality without reducing the area of public green space. A recent visit by reporters found that the entrance and exit on the south side of the parking lot is already in use, with vehicles coming and going occasionally, while the exit on the north side is still not finished. The parking lot is currently in the trial operation phase.

Qingdao plans to continue accelerating the construction of public parking lots and promote the construction of 100 public parking lots throughout the city this year. It aims to ensure the commencement of over 20 projects in the first quarter, completing six projects and adding 2,281 new parking spaces. The annual target is to add over 20,000 new parking spaces. Specifically, around 50 projects will be carried out in challenging areas such as the old city area, schools, hospitals, scenic spots, and commercial districts, adding over 10,000 new parking spaces.