The first eco city in the world

From now to 2020, China will build 400 new cities, among them the DongTan testing city - the first 'eco city' in the world.

DongTan will spring up from the wild swamp, located at the northern tip of Chongming, China's third largest island, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Here, no building is over 8 stories high, the roofs covered with grass and trees to insulate and regenerate water.

The city offers every six-foot pedestrian space in Copenhagen (Denmark) - one of the most breathtaking cities in Europe. Clean battery-powered buses connect the neighborhoods.

Traditional motorbikes are banned, people travel by electric bicycles and scooters. The roads have been outlined in a way that makes it easier for people to get to work by bike and on foot.

Up to 80% of solid waste is recreated. Burned in a thermal power plant, organic waste will produce electricity for the city. Rice husk, a high-temperature fuel source, is readily available in China, also burned there. Further, the giant wind engines with the thrust of the sea breeze also produce electricity. Each building has a small, wind engine and separate photovoltaic panels.

The project has been handed over for 7 years to Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC). Regarding DongTan city design, SIIC asked a British technical consultant, Arup, who has been working for 20 years in China, to participate in the architecture project of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Evidence of the political importance of the DongTan project is that the contract was signed in the presence of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

DongTan is expected to be built within 4 years.