China Reform and Opening-Up: Hebi transforms into model Sponge City

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Thirty Chinese cities, including Hebi are building new green infrastructures as they strive to become better Sponge Cities. What exactly is a Sponge City and how does it work? CGTN's Xu Mengqi explains.

It was a night that many in Beijing still remember. A torrential downpour in the Chinese capital on July 21st, 2012, left 79 people dead. The disaster highlighted a problem in many of China's cities: flood management. China developed a "sponge city initiative" to resolve the issue.

XU MENGQI HEBI, HENAN PROVINCE "A sponge city, as the term suggests, is a city that works like a sponge. When there's rainfall, it absorbs the water and retains it, and when there's need, it can also release the water it has stored."

Central China's Hebi is one of the country's model sponge cities. In 2015, the city designated nearly 30 square kilometers as a pilot area for sponge city construction. The project began by "softening" the hard, impervious pavement common to the urban landscape.

SUN XIAOHUA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR GARDENING AND GREENING BUREAU, QIBIN DISTRICT "This road surface is permeable to water. Its material is porous asphalt. Let's run an experiment. It is effective in light, medium and heavy rain, and when it rains we can still walk on this pavement."

The greenery and gardens lining the pavement also absorb and purify rainwater as it infiltrates the ground. Underneath, water-storage modules are installed to save the rainwater for later use.

ZHOU FEIXIANG, SENIOR ENGINEER CHINA ACADEMY OF URBAN PLANNING & DESIGN "Previously urbanization in China was more about speed or capacity. Now it's reached a stage where it's more about quality. The sponge city is the future of cities. It will improve people's quality of life and level of comfort."

BI JING HEBI RESIDENT "When it rained before, water would pool on the ground. Now it's better. The greenery at the gates of our neighborhood is also quite pleasant to the eyes."

Although the sponge city initiative started out as a solution to flooding, experts say the project is also asking for a change of mindset towards a more holistic and sustainable approach to urban development. XMQ, CGTN, Hebi, Henan province.