Model city

The project also hopes to bring its residents to lead others in recycling garbage, especially household waste, with plans to build a pipeline network from collection stations to recycling facilities in the area. Potable water directly from the tap will be available, and water reuse and recycling will be put into practice.

All the structures in the area are expected to be green and energy-efficient. Renewable energy use will account for more than 15 percent of the area's total energy use.

Director You also gave the assurance that high costs for the construction of such an eco city will not necessarily mean people living in it will have to pay a high price. As a pilot demonstration project, the government will make sure it is affordable and accessible for many, he says.

But construction of eco cities in China is not all without risks. At a time when many Chinese cities are setting ambitious plans to develop eco-cities in the name of pursuing low-carbon and greener development, Wuxi Party chief Mao Xiaoping remains level-headed about it.

"More than 30 Chinese cities have now said they want to develop eco-cities. But we must be aware that China still lacks a system of evaluation standards in the sector, without which our pursuit for eco-cities might just become a formality and fail to produce any concrete results," Mao says.

Mao has submitted a proposal to the National People's Congress asking the central government to set up a national mechanism to coordinate and regulate the nationwide strides in creating eco-cities, while promoting the establishment of a set of standards and regulations based on Chinese characteristics.

"Because of the lack of a mature system and the difficulty in putting low-carbon technologies into use, we should bear in mind that eco-cities in China are still in the preliminary stage of development," he says.