Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, vows to make strong efforts this year to transform itself into a park city. [Photo/Guanhai News]

Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, will make strong efforts this year to transform itself into a park city, according to local authorities.

This year, the city plans to build 100 kilometers of new urban greenways and establish 18 comprehensive community parks, continue improving and standardizing the city's pocket park system, and build 140 small pocket parks and 180 small-scale floral landscapes. The initiative will also provide guidance and support for the renovation and improvement of green spaces in residential areas.

In 2022, Qingdao launched a three-year action plan for transforming itself into a park city, which involves creating one single urban greenway network, 200 park green spaces, 100 tree-lined corridors, and 300 three-dimensional greening areas and implementing one ecological greening project within three years.

In response to high demand from residents for sports and fitness facilities in parks, the city's garden and forestry bureau also plans to enhance urban park fitness services through new construction and renovations, intending to build over 50 types of sports fields, more than 500 table tennis facilities, and 50 storage lockers in parks throughout the city, establishing a comprehensive "15-minute fitness circle" to make fitness more accessible to the public.