Fourthly, the Master Plan Scheme on Beijing City Construction

In April 1980, the Secretariat of CPC Central Committee analyzed the characteristics of the Capital, and summed up the historic experiences, and made an important instruction for the principle of Capital construction, and clearly pointed the direction of Capital construction. The important instruction given by the CPC Secretariat laid an identical base in thinking on the matters of principle concerning Beijing city nature, scale, layout, old city reconstruction, etc. Under the guidance of important instruction of the Secretariat of Party Central Committee, and view the prospect of development in 2000, and produced the Master Plan Scheme on Construction of Beijing City (refer to attached Fig. 10 & 11).

The main characteristics of the master plan in this edition are:
Clear and definite the nature of city and the orientation of economy development

The plan clear The city of Beijing is the center of politics and culture of the whole country, and did not mention the center of economy and stress that the economy development shall adapt and comply with the requirement of city nature, and adjust the structure. According to the condition of the resources, the industry in low energy consumption, less water consumed and less land occupied, less quantity in transportation, free of pollution and contamination and not disturb the people shall be developed in priority. The technical renovation shall be carried out for the existing heavy industry and change the situation in which the industry is overconcentrated in the city proper.

Strictly control the city scale, and persist in the city layout of “Scatter –Conglomeration Type”, and develop the satellite towns in far suburb areas.

The Plan puts forward the target to strictly control the city population, and it is planned that the total population of the whole city in 2000 shall be controlled at 10 million (refer to constant population with city domicile registration). The population in urban area shall be controlled around 4 million, and at the same time reaffirm the layout principle of “Scatter – Conglomeration Type”. Regulate the layout structure of city proper based on the changed condition, and forms the central area with old city as its core and 10 skirt conglomerations which independent correspondingly and separated by the green space area of about 2 kilometers between them.

Based on the principle of “Gradually transform the old town, the near suburb adjusting and matching, actively development of far suburb”, construct a group of new residential area and relative associated facilities in near suburb via the regulation of land use, and construct State Olympic Sport Center and Asia Game Village at the north suburb of the city, and forms a new function district on the extension line on the north center line. Huangcun and Changping shall be key points for construction, and conducts the planning and construction of satellite towns at far suburb, and issued the relevant policy for promotion of satellite town construction.

In light of the position of Beijing as a famous city in history and culture, a higher requirement has been put forward for preservation, inheritage and carrying forward the style and features of ancient Capital.

The scope of protection for the cultural relics and historic sites and revolutionary cultural relics should be enlarged and not only protect the ancient architecture itself and should also protect the environment where the ancient architecture situated, and preserve the special features of Beijing, and attention should also be paid to integrate with gardens and water system, and lay stress on the coordination of new and old buildings.

On matters of old town reconstruction, put forward that “the old town reconstruction shall be integrated with new construction in suburb area”, and a sufficient amount of turnover buildings shall be built, and the inhabitants and units in the old town area shall be evacuated gradually from where they live in, and give more land to expand the road and increase the green land, improve the municipal infrastructure, and arrange the office buildings badly needed in the central area of Beijing and all kinds of large-scale public establishment.

Clear and definite that the residential area shall be served as a basic unit to arrange the living of the inhabitants so as to arrange in a better way for all kinds of facilities and facilitates to people’s life.

But in 1980s, it was affected by the factors of policy implementation and the educated youth return to the city, the population of the whole city, especially the population in urban area was increased in a big margin,. On the other hand, the economy development and the scale of town construction have been constrained greatly, and it’s hard to play the function to evacuate the urban population and the industry.