The Kunshan Planning Bureau is soliciting public opinions on the city's plan for the Cross-Straits (Kunshan) Commerce and Trade Cooperation Zone.

The plan is a major move by the authorities to enhance the business ties between Kunshan and Taiwan, and to promote local economy.

The planned zone occupies about 5.28 square kilometers, stretching from Huning Highway in the north to Greenland Road in the south and from Dongcheng Nan Road in the west to the Jishan Road-G312-Huanyuan Bei Road intersection in the east.

According to the plan, the Cross-Straits (Kunshan) Commerce and Trade Cooperation Zone will be a modern trade area containing a combination of Taiwan commodities, centralized procurement facilities, wholesale and retail sales locations, exhibitions and business offices.

Huaqiao will become a world-class business park where cross-straits cooperation is carried out in various fields of the service industry, including service outsourcing, modern logistics, financial services and cultural creativity.

The zone is expected to house roughly 27,000 residents with urban land-use scale reaching 4.98 square kilometers.

The spatial pattern of the zone contains two axes and five zones. The T-shaped axes consist of the Zhongzhou Road commerce development axis and Xuezhao Road industry development axis.

The five zones will include the Taiwan commodity trading center, technology research and development center, Taiwan commodity distribution center, Taiwan commodity exhibition center and supporting services center.

Residential land is planned to be 39.1 hectares, occupying 7.84 percent of the construction land. Among the residential land, 36.17 hectares will be used for housing, 1.85 hectares for service facilities and 1.08 hectares for childcare.

Land use for commercial services will be 190.97 hectares, accounting for 38.31 percent of the construction land. Commercial services land will be divided into four parts: 68.96 hectares for commercial facilities, 55.37 hectares for business facilities, 0.35 hectares for gasoline and LPG stations, and 3.72 hectares for other public facilities and operating branches.

Land use for logistics warehouses will be 72.99 hectares, 14.64 percent of the construction land.

Land use for municipal facilities will be 0.48 hectares, occupying 0.1 percent of the construction land.