As the bell rang in the New Year, expectations were high in Chengdu, Sichuan province as its Tianfu New Area was ready to pioneer a new round of economic growth in China.

The focus of development has now moved to the west of China following the success of Shenzhen, Shanghai and Tianjin, all milestones in development along the nation's coast.

The coastal areas were crucial to the past three decades of reform and opening up that helped create an economic miracle in China, but the economic center gravity is shifting — both globally and within the country — and so is the model for growth.

According to a UN report, a large proportion of so-called growth over recent decades was the result of real estate development, fossil fuel exploitation, mining and financial derivatives.

The approach damaged the environment and often failed to create value in the real economy.

To tackle the global financial crisis and climate change, the US and the EU are attempting to move toward low-carbon economies.

They are not alone. China is also transforming its economic model to become "greener"and more sustainable.

According to the Sichuan provincial government, its new Tianfu project is an important move in the effort to build a green economy.

Designed as an international, livable city backed by sustainable industrial development, Tianfu is betting on high-end industries that offer energy conservation and reduced emissions.

On Dec 25, a ceremony was held to inaugurate 150 major projects in Tianfu that will require a total investment of more than 200 billion yuan ($31.7 billion).

Some 84 projects averaging 2.55billion yuan each are planned for development within the city limits of Chengdu.Together they are expected to create more than 250,000 jobs for locals.

The remaining projects are in the neighboring cities of Ziyang and Meishan.

Plans for the new area call for integration of industrial development with modern residential facilities and urban amenities.

Industry, urban infrastructure and environmental protection have been given equal importance from the very start,said Qiu Jian, vice-director of the new area's planning office and chief planner at the Sichuan construction bureau. Tianfu will have an urban environmental System in which humans and nature coexist, he said.

Qiu noted that the new area has zones where construction is banned or limited depending on assessments of whether development is appropriate.

Zoning will ensure greenbelts, rivers, lakes and farmland will remain intact, he noted, while historic towns and land with regional cultural features will be preserved.

An inland city in China's southwest, Chengdu has plans to become an international metropolis through the Tianfu development, according to Qiu.

A survey showed a number of inland cities in the US and Europe — such as Chicago, Detroit, Frankfurt, and Zurich — Have become cosmopolitan metropolises due to their unique attributes.

Qiu said that Chengdu has advantages in air transport — ranking fourth nationwide in cargo and passenger throughput —and well-developed high-tech and manufacturing industries.

The Tianfu development is designed to further enhance those industries and help Chengdu develop into an economic engine for the west of China.

The new area's core industries will include electronics, advanced manufacturing, new materials and biomedicine.

"Tianfu is crucial to us," said Lu Yun, vice-president of Xinzhu Corp, which plans to invest 15 billion yuan in the new area to build the largest production line for railway equipment in West China.

With strict environmental standards, the Xinzhu project meets the area's requirements for greener growth,Lu said.