Spatial Planning of Suzhou Approved: It’s an Important Central City in the East Region Together with Nanjing and Hangzhou
On January 16th, the Chinese government website published the State Council’s approval of the “Master Plan for National Spatial Planning (2021-2035)” for the cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou in Jiangsu Province.
Regarding the nature of these three cities, the approval stated that Suzhou is an important central city in the eastern region, a national historic and cultural city, and a national transportation hub city. Wuxi is also an important central city in the Yangtze River Delta region, a national historic and cultural city, and a national transportation hub city. Changzhou is another important central city in the Yangtze River Delta region and a national historic city.
Since September of last year, the master plans for the spatial planning of Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Ningbo and other central cities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces in the Yangtze River Delta have been approved. The news outlet The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) noted that cities such as Ningbo, Hefei, Wuxi, and Changzhou are all important central cities in the Yangtze River Delta region. Meanwhile, Suzhou—alongside Nanjing and Hangzhou—are also important central cities in the eastern region.
According to the Chinese government website, in addition to these seven cities in the Yangtze River Delta, more than 20 other cities such as Chongqing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Shenyang, Dalian, Qingdao have received approval from the State Council for their master plans for spatial planning towards 2035. Most of these cities are positioned as “central cities” at different levels. For example, Chongqing and Tianjin are important central cities in China, Chengdu is an important central city in the western region, Shenyang is an international central city in Northeast Asia, Jinan is an important central city in the Yellow River basin, Nanchang is an important central city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and Lanzhou is an important central city in the western region. The different levels of “central cities” reflect different expectations of the country for each city.
Regarding Suzhou’s urban development, its positioning has undergone evolution. According to the official WeChat account of Suzhou Radio and Television Station “Suzhou News,” in the first master plan approved by the State Council in 1986 for Suzhou, it was defined as an important historic and cultural city and an important tourist city. In 2000, the State Council approved the master plan for Suzhou (1996-2010), positioning it as a national historic and cultural city, an important tourist city in the Yangtze River Delta region. The master plan approved in 2016 (2011-2020) added a national high-tech industry base to its previous status.
The economic volumes of Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing rank sixth, eighth, and tenth respectively in China. Among the top ten cities in China with the highest GDP, Suzhou is the only prefecture-level city known as the “strongest prefecture-level city”. The upgrade of its national positioning from being an important central city in the Yangtze River Delta to being an important central city in the eastern region alongside Nanjing and Hangzhou is evident.
Regarding urban nature, Nanjing is described by the State Council as “the capital of Jiangsu Province, an important central city in the eastern region, a national historic and cultural city, and an international transportation hub.” Hangzhou is described as “the capital of Zhejiang Province, an important central city in the eastern region, a national historic and cultural city.” Although Suzhou shares a similar status as Nanjing and Hangzhou as “important central cities in the eastern region,” there are differences in their core functional positioning. Nanjing serves as a national advanced manufacturing base, an innovation center for industries in the east as well as a hub for technological innovation in the region. It also acts as a center for modern service industries in the east and a regional shipping logistics center. On the other hand, Hangzhou focuses on being a national innovation center for digital economy along with being a hub for technological innovation and advanced manufacturing. Suzhou aims to become a base for advanced manufacturing and high-tech industries along with being a hub for technological innovation and a comprehensive modern logistics center with distinctive features of a river town with江南水乡 characteristics as an international tourist destination.
The master plans for spatial planning of these three cities are blueprints for sustainable development towards 2035. They are also implementations of the National Spatial Planning Outline and Provincial Spatial Planning as important central cities in the eastern region; they should also play a radiating and driving role in regional development. Following the approval by the State Council Suzhou aims to serve as a part of building a bi-directional opening hub connecting west and east; it deepens collaborative development with Shanghai; Hangzhou integrates deeply into its efforts to promote the Yangtze River Economic Belt; while Nanjing focuses on constructing an urban
