Greater Jianggan Aims for Internationalization
Where can we find the most charming night view?
Perhaps everyone has a different answer in his or her mind: Tokyo of Japan, Victoria harbor of Hong Kong, Bund of Shanghai...These places all have their unique lighting design that are infinitely captivating.
Everyone believes that night scene is the standard configuration of an international metropolis.
Take a look at Hangzhou CBD. When night falls, Hangzhou Public Services Center, International Conference Center, Hangzhou Grand Theatre, City Balcony, Central Fountain, and their surrounding office towers jointly form a fascinating scroll of shifting lights and shadow along the bank of Qiantang River.
Moving "Towards an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy" is inseparable from the guidance of an internationalized city. Boasting the core area of Hangzhou CBD, Jianggan District is telling a series of vivid episodes on Hangzhou's road to internationalization.
Biggest transportation hub in Asia
Known as Asia's largest transportation hub, each day Hangzhou East Railway Station sees 280,000 people in and out of its 15 platforms and 30 arrival/departure lines, recording a peak-hour maximum passenger flow of up to 720, 000 person/times. With "zero distance transfer" and Yangtze River Delta 1 hour railway traffic circle, it has really achieved a one-city effect with Shanghai.
Among Hangzhou's 33 entrances for motor traffic, Pengbu is the busiest, known as "No. 1 Gate of Hangzhou. It handles, on an average day, arrivals and departures of 45,000 vehicles, i.e. one in every 2 seconds. During holiday season, the figure goes up as high as 60,000.
And, all of them are in Jianggan.
Regarding rail transit, three metro lines, Line 1, 2 and 4 pass through areas under its jurisdiction. And this makes Jianggan the first and only urban district in Hangzhou to have a systematically operating metro system.
High-end international hotel cluster
As the year's last deluxe hotel to open in Hangzhou CBD, Park Hyatt Hangzhou, perching on the top of Tower A of China Resources Building in Phase II of Mixc Mall, still draws much speculation. The hotel's interior decoration is done by the world-class master designer Yabu Pushelberg. Each guest room is to be unique.
For super five-star hotels of this caliber, Hangzhou CBD has seen several of them open in succession, including Diaoyutai Hangzhou Hotel, Hangzhou Marriott Hotel Qianjiang, etc. In addition, Hilton Hangzhou Qiantang and Hilton Conrad Hotel will be put into operation next year. Counting in those already in business, such as Intercontinental. Hangzhou, at present there are a total of 11 high-end hotels, being prepared, under construction, or already open to business, bringing in with them aggregated business space exceeding 300,000 square meters. With an emerging hotel zone centering on the high-end hotel cluster, Jianggan is well on its way to become a promising international convention destination.
In addition to high star hotels, Jianggan is launching a line of bigger and grander urban complexes.
In the second half of this year, Qingchun commercial zone is scheduled to launch the first branch of Hangzhou Tower, 501 City Plaza; next year, in Hangzhou CBD, there will be Hangzhou's first Raffles City, i.e. the gracefully-curved bottle building.
It is worth mentioning that in the future the district plans to turn Hangzhou CBD into the core of Qiantang River Financial Harbor and on its basis and to build a core area featuring regional financial HQ centers, regional fortune management centers and regional outside dealing centers, so as to promote the development of financial innovation and upgrade its financial internationalization.
Internationalized future
The fundamental goal of internationalization is still to advance the well-being of people. More international standard schools, hospitals, communities, and transparent and efficient service-oriented government will continue to be built in Jianggan.
Recently, the district rolled out the next five-year plan, in which a beautiful blueprint for faster, better and stronger development is drawn.
During the "13th Five Plan" period, Jianggan shall spend three years to accelerate its internationalization process, aiming for the position of "international new window" and focusing on "internationalization of industry, talent, and environment".
The spatial layout of the district's internationalization endeavor features "one body, two wings and one belt".
To be specific, one body refers to "one integrated core functional zone" whose emphasis is to build Hangzhou CBD International Business Area, New Eastern City International Gateway Hub, Genbei New Town TOD Internationalized Community, and construct special projects like international schools, medical institutions and communities that satisfy the functions of an internationalized urban district.
"Two wing functional areas" focus on building Qiantang Smart City International Innovation Center, Hangzhou International Trade Mall, and Dinglan Smart Town, to attract a convergence of global innovation elements, and speed up the construction of a top-class international platform for innovation and entrepreneurship.
"One belt ecological function area" is geared to build an eco-environment supporting system, plan and construct low density space programs like city country parks, eco-living area, and cultural creative parks, to achieve an perfect blending of environment protection and regional internationalization, and activate the development potential of the area around the airport.