China's urban renewal projects are breathing new life into its abandoned factory areas, as the authorities move away from large-scale demolition toward incremental change, which emphasizes the preservation of industrial heritage and small-scale adjustments.
In Jinan, capital city of east China's Shandong Province, the 579 Baigongji area -- once the city's largest used goods and building materials market -- has been transformed into a popular cultural and tourism hub.
This pilot project exemplifies Jinan's efforts to reuse existing structures of urban renewal objects through minor renovations.
"Our minor renovations aren't just about bricks. It's about making small changes to bring about self-changes and achieving more by doing less. Of the 100,000-square-meter complex, only 27,000 square meters underwent renovation. The remaining 73,000 square meters were just simply decorated, basically retaining their original appearances, yet the outcomes are amazing," said Wang Qun, head of the 579 Baigongji.
The complex is now home to more than 50 companies. Its success has inspired replications elsewhere.
"Since last year, we have launched over 100 urban renewal projects using the approach of small-scale, incremental, and minor changes to simultaneously improve supporting facilities, preserve historical and cultural heritage, and elevate people's living standards," said Zhao Xin, director of urban renewal of the Jinan Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Bureau.
A parallel case is the Donghu Yiku Park in the old city of Nanchang, capital city of east China's Jiangxi Province.
The former largest foreign trade storage base of Jiangxi has retained 90 percent of its old structures during renewal and restored its historical Suzhou-style buildings.
"It has greatly increased our foot traffic. We estimate about 300 visitors come here daily on Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- often beyond our capacity to handle," said Yang Wen, a shop owner at the park.
The renewal and transformation of old blocks, old factory areas, and urban villages are not only reshaping the looks of Chinese cities, but also unleashing domestic demand for the cities' high-quality development, according to experts.
"The renewal of old blocks and old factory areas is a key means to make spatial and quality improvements and to add vitality and new economic growth momentum to cities. By shifting functions, upgrading business forms, and creating consumption scenarios, cities can forge new consumption spaces that are more appealing, and attract emerging industries such as cultural creation and sci-tech innovation, ultimately cultivating new economic growth drivers," said Wang Kai, president of China Academy of Urban Planning Design.
Urban renewal brings new vitality to old factory complexes in eastern Chinese cities
The 10th China-Russia Expo opened on Sunday in Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China, highlighting the resilience, vitality and mutual benefits of China-Russia economic ties.
Held from May 17 to 21, this year's expo covers a floor space of 55,000 square meters, with more than 1,500 companies from 46 countries and regions taking part. Nearly 300 Russian companies are attending, while over 5,000 buyers are expected.
Since 2014, the event has attracted more than 7,200 Chinese and Russian companies and over a million visitors.
The China-Russia Expo is the largest comprehensive exhibition platform between the two countries.
President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin each sent congratulatory letters to the event, encouraging all sectors from both countries to seize the opportunity, make full use of their geographical proximity and economic complementarity, and further expand all-round practical cooperation.
"Leaders of the two countries have signed agreements to deepen practical cooperation, which we fully support. Russia and China stand side by side for common development, benefiting young people and all people. Such cooperation is timely and far-reaching. We are here in Harbin for the China-Russia Expo, coming from Russia's Sakha Republic. Our region is dominated by agriculture. We are seeking advanced farming technologies including irrigation equipment and harvesters. We hope to reach deals in the coming days to boost local development," said Vasiliy Petrovich Alexeev, head of Ust-Aidan Region of the Russian Federation.
"We are greatly inspired by the congratulatory letters from the heads of state of China and Russia. We will keep building targeted and efficient cooperation platforms, and smooth channels for sub-national exchanges between China and Russia," said Chen Shijun, president of Heilongjiang Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
China-Russia trade volume has surpassed 200 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years. China has been Russia's largest trading partner for 16 years running.
In the first quarter of this year, bilateral trade volume hit 60 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of more than 14 percent.
This year's Expo features eight major exhibition zones. Beyond the exhibition halls, Russian delegations have also conducted field visits to Chinese companies. A delegation from the Republic of Buryatia visited one of northeast China's largest building materials distribution centers to explore potential areas of cooperation.
"Regular China-Russia economic and trade events continuously bring fresh cooperation opportunities for both sides. This field trip to Xilong Building Materials Market has helped us explore more practical directions and modes for bilateral cooperation," said Alexei Tsydenov, head of the Republic of Buryatia of the Russian Federation.
"Relying on Buryatia's abundant mineral resources and sound logistics conditions, we plan to build industrial parks focusing on home building materials, mineral resources and energy sectors in Russia. We will introduce advanced Chinese technologies and management models to drive coordinated industrial upgrading between the two countries," said Wu Jinrong, vice president of Harbin Xilong International Trade and Logistics Park.
From everyday consumer goods to advanced helicopters, and from mineral resources to intelligent robotics, China-Russia cooperation now spans a wide range of sectors. Economic ties and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries continue to advance toward higher-quality development and broader prospects.
China-Russia Expo promotes trust, cooperation, mutual benefit
