The authorities have borrowed ancient concepts in mapping out the urban development plan.

The focus of the plan is to build a modern city area sustaining its original rural beauty, in what authorities call urban-rural integration.

Just as major parts of the urban area are developed from the countryside, many urban residents are former farmers who have a special love of the nature and are nostalgic about the rural lifestyle.

Flowing rivers, trees, flowers and grass are key elements that the authorities want to highlight in their urban planning.

The urban area is surrounded by about 8,000 hectares of flower farms, which enrich the color of the city all four seasons.

According ancient fengshui — which literally means wind and water — lakes and rivers are the soul of a residence or a city.

And people in Wenjiang are proud that they are at the upper part of fengshui, with wind and water from the mountains in its northwest passing southeast to downtown Chengdu.

Most of the residential communities in Wenjiang are built along four major rivers, with their banks covered with evergreen trees and grass.

Another feature of the district is that most of the residences have been built according to the traditional style of the area — two or three-story buildings with white walls and grey roof tiles, with rivers and farmlands within eyesight.

In addition to urban planning, the authorities have also made great efforts to improve the environment, especially in controlling air and water pollution and planting trees and grasses.

More than 91 percent of the city’s sewage is treated before it flows to the rivers, with the rate expected to rise.

In addition, 42.25 percent of the urban area is covered by trees and grasses, for a per capital green space of 21.6 sq m.

BY ZHAO SHIJUN Editor: Guo Changdong