Zhu Jianguo showed up at the community park unfailingly at 6 a.m., accompanied by his little dog Zhongqiu. He is a regular at the park and these little jaunts are his lifeline.

Ten years ago, Zhu moved to Beijing from Tianshui, northwest China's Gansu Province. He lived with his daughter but felt lonely, because she was often away. This lasted until a mini park opened nearby. The 870-square-meter Xishiku Pocket Park opened in 2018.

"I feel better now," Zhu said. "I used to be lonely as I am not familiar with the city and had no friends here."

His morning walks helped him make friends in the community. They meet at the park, chat and do tai chi together. Zhu said the park is now a place for elderly people like him to make new friends. He likes it best in the morning when children come out to play and the park comes alive.

The construction of pocket or mini parks has given Beijing more greenery as well as a place where residents can come out for fresh air, socializing and other activities.

Urban lungs 

"The mini parks scattered citywide are less than 1,000 square meters of green space each," said Liu Xiaomei, a senior urban planner with the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design.

In the central commercial districts and old areas in the capital, where there is a high density of buildings as well as people, it is a huge challenge to create new parks. An advantage of mini parks is that they are "flexible." They can be in various shapes according to their location, providing diverse services.

These parks contribute to a better environment. The triangular Xishiku Park used to be the parking lot of a hospital. Since the space turned into a park, the thick traffic has eased.

Mini parks do the work of urban parks for those who live far away from the latter. People can easily stroll over to mini parks built on their streets or in their communities, where they can exercise and enjoy the scenery. For instance, at Xishiku Park, despite limited land, many trees have been planted, including gingkoes, magnolias and cherry-apple trees. These parks expand the green space of the city and improve the urban landscape and living environment.

Also, with the mini parks, people can be more than visitors. They can participate in the construction and management. Recently, residents in Sanmiao Community in west Beijing, for instance, are planning a small garden on their own. The site they have chosen was originally an abandoned shed that posed safety hazards and was dismantled in 2017. After the community decided to turn the area into a garden park, they called a meeting to discuss people's requirements.

At the first meeting on January 11, the participants had a vote to decide the functions of the park. By the fifth meeting on March 2, they had made architectural models under the suggestion of a professional team.

The maintenance of some parks also involves volunteers, who take responsibility for protecting the trees and flowers. Liu said residents' participation in managing the parks can reduce the financial as well as manpower pressure on the government. "With such parks increasing in numbers, other sectors in society should be encouraged to take part in the management," she said.

Keeping history alive 

Besides serving the public and protecting the ecology, mini parks can display local culture, acting as windows to a city, Liu said. To this end, mini parks are often built near historical sites. The parks planned in these areas have to be harmonious in design and highlight the local landscape and culture while ensuring that the historical buildings are not damaged

For instance, Xishiku Park is located in the Shichahai area, a block with the largest area under cultural conservation in Beijing. In 2002, 25 historical areas in Beijing's old city came under conservation, and the Shichahai area is one of them. So parks planned in this area have to be harmonious in design and highlight the local landscape and culture while ensuring that the historical buildings are not damaged.

Liu suggested that the materials used in the construction of these parks should have traditional and local cultural features.

She also said the history of the local area should be embodied in these parks.

For example, in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the site of Xishiku Park was a warehouse serving the royal family. This history has been introduced to visitors. This is a good attempt to integrate the park into the cultural atmosphere of Shichahai.

Besides Xishiku Park, four more parks were built in 2018 in the Shichahai area. Their total area is over 3,000 square meters. Besides this, a 6,000-meter footpath was built, as well as Xihai Wetland Park.

Depending on their locations, some parks may have sightseeing facilities for tourists, while local residents need parks with fitness facilities and resting areas.

Parks designed for both tourists and locals can be turned into theme parks, meeting both recreational and tourism requirements. "We hope the parks can reflect the style of the old town as much as possible," Liang Fei, a Shichahai community official, told Xinhua News Agency.

Renovating existing parks is another way to create mini parks, which can better protect the cultural relics they house, as well as invaluable old trees.

Green vision 

Liu said different kinds of small parks have been created in Beijing, such as garage parks, where an underground parking lot is turned into a green space, and rooftop parks.

"They are a concept of high-quality development and a better lifestyle," she said. "The target to build Beijing into a national forest city will be reached by 2025."

In 2018, Beijing started phasing out non-capital functions, including manufacturing plants, logistics companies, and wholesale markets out of the city, to increase the capital's green space and public service facilities. Illegal buildings were demolished, shantytowns renovated, and 121 new mini parks built.

The greening work has been augmented with 20 urban forests built in four districts and 28 city parks created citywide. This year, more leisure space will be provided as 31 new parks are built, as well as 13 urban forests. Small plots in urban areas will be effectively utilized as 50 new mini parks.

Beijing is also focusing on afforestation on 600 hectares of urban land. Apart from mini parks, 8.37 hectares of urban green space were developed in Xicheng District last year. It is estimated that by the end of 2019, the city's forest coverage will reach 44 percent, with the urban green coverage nearly 49 percent. As a result, per-capita public green area will be more than 16 square meters.

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar 

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