Title:

Zhengdong: Empowering the inland metropolis

Author:

Leonardo Ramondetti

In Territorio 2018, Vol. 85, pp. 51-56

2018

Ramondetti, L. (2018). Zhengdong: Empowering the inland metropolis. Territorio, 85, pp. 51-56

This paper is part of the special issue: The Cities after Chinese New Towns edited by Michele Bonino, Francesca Governa and Angelo Sampieri

Designed in 2001 as an expansion of Zhengzhou (the capital of the Henan province), this article presents the new town of Zhengdong: one million of inhabitants, over 150 square kilometres of new built spaces centred on a Central Business District and, above all, a new high-speed railways station. Zhengdong is part of the overall upgrading of the infrastructural system in inland China. Although most of the new development of Zhengdong is still to be completed, the urban expansion does not stop here: Zhengbian, designed between 2006 and 2009, is a further development expected over 300 square kilometres, incorporating towns and villages. Zhengzhou and its expansion are thus a case in point to investigate how Chinese policies are promoting the rise of Central Regions toward urbanisation, and the role of the emerging urban agglomerations in the national arena.