China is experiencing a rapid economic development, accompanied by a rapid industrialization and urbanization process. The percentage of the urban population to the total population has increased from 13.2% in 1979, to 16.7% in 1985, 20.4% in 1992 and 39.1% in 2002. And this trend is expected to keep going up. It brings a severe burden to the carrying capacity of the eco-system. Due to the industrialization without caring about the environment, people are living under very unpleasant conditions. If you have a look at the ranking of the most polluted cities, there are always a good number of Chinese cities on the upper ranks.

Therefore, the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration has initiated a so-called ecological demonstration districts program since the 1990s. So far there are hundreds of cities and counties involved in this “eco-city” plan to various degrees. No doubt that some of the cities and counties just follow the trend without really devoting efforts to changing the polluted environment and creating sustainable living conditions. In some cases, the cities just copy the plan from others without adapting them to their local environmental, social and economic conditions. An effective supervision mechanism is not in place. Additionally, general public participation is not adequate. This is partly because of the institutional system which is not encouraging participation. Another reason is that the general public is not aware of the policy or this kind of programs which are considered as something not linked with their daily life. But actually it is very connected to their welfare. This is something embodied in their minds, and needs time to change.

But there is one project which seems very exceptional. It is the Dongtan eco-city project, one of the most famous and ambitious projects. Chongming Island is located at the estuary of the Yangtze River near Shanghai, with a size of 1222.6km2. According to the master plan, the overall layout consists of five districts, which are West, North, Middle and East and South Chongming. Dongtan belongs to the East Chongming district.

It is surrounded by wetlands and lies next to a bird sanctuary where hundreds of rare migratory birds seek refuge. It is going to be built rather as a nature-friendly and ecologically healthy city than a pure natural reserve.

This project is being developed by Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation in partnership with Arup-the UK design firm. Zero-carbon emission is one goal. They use various clean energy technologies to reach this goal. They will utilize the organic waste from residents’ kitchens such as vegetable peelings to generate biomass energy. Thanks to the special geographical location, it is possible to use the off-sea wind to generate energy. Solar cell panels will be installed on the rooftops of the buildings. Canals and reservoirs will be built in order to protect the island from floods and collect the rainwater for reducing the water consumption. They seemingly treat all the things, gifts or disasters, given by nature as merits.

Have all these in your mind: The highest building here is only eight floors, while in most other places in China skycrapers are constructed. All the buses use fuel cells. All diesel and petrol vehicles will be banned. 80% of the solid waste will be reused. Just imagine this, you can already feel the fresh breeze kissing your cheek. But, there is always a “BUT”, it will never come true, if the pollution problem will not have been solved first. You may be confused where the pollution comes from. As I mentioned previously, the Island is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The river is highly polluted, to a large extent due to the development of all the cities along the river. And this island is exactly the terminal of all the polluted water. And this will definitely have a negative impact on the environment of the island. No one wants to see the eco-island surrounded by stinky water. Hence the whole project should start from the very “beginning”-the upstream of the river.

There is a wetland sightseeing zone, an eco-farming demonstration zone, an education, research and development zone, a forest-style commercial zone, an outdoor sports and leisure zone, an experimental ecological zone, a pollution free industry zone, a theme park zone, a new-style farmers community. It is easy to find out that only service and so-called new agriculture sectors are located in this area. These are considered less dirty than the industry sector. It is of course very important to build a friendly relationship bewteen human beings and nature. But somehow, in my opinion, this case is too special and can hardly be applied to other cities. It sounds too ideal. As a mature city, it should be “autarkic” to some point. If people living there do not produce the goods they consume, they have to buy the goods from other cities-then burdens to the environment are just passed down to other places.

Personally, I feel the city is more like a big luxury villa for the people who are tired of busy city life and go there to enjoy the ‘before industrialisation’ time. Getting closer to the nature is just the fashion which is abused.