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What has been achieved thus far?

Beijing launched a first three-year development action plan for its southern area in 2010, aiming to narrow the so-called "north-south gap" in the city.

Over the past three years, a total of 290 billion yuan (US$46 billion) was spent on this development plan. And southern Beijing, which for a long time was synonymous for "the poorer side of town," has made substantial achievements in both social and economic growth.

The average gross regional product (GRP) of the Fengtai, Daxing (including Yizhuang) and Fangshan districts rose by 9.2 percent from 2010 to 2012, standing at 0.5 percentage points higher than the municipal's GRP growth rate.

The annual fiscal revenues in the three districts also surged 21.6 percent on average during this period, 3.8 percentage points higher than the capital's fiscal revenue growth.

More changes have taken place in Beijing's southern region, which was compared by some to Shanghai's Pudong New Area.

The region has seen the fast development of high-end industries, with the creation of eight industrial parks, attracting more than 200 projects worth a total investment of nearly 120 billion yuan (US$19 billion). Small coal mines, cement plants and lime factories on the other hand, were shut down amid the industrial upgrading.

The southern area's transport network has been greatly improved, including the establishment of main urban roads and inter-regional routes. Nine main urban roads, extending for 56 kilometers, including Xinghua Street and western extensions of Jinxing Road, have now completed construction. Six other roads, covering a total length of 167 kilometers, including Jingliang Road and Puhuangyu Road, are being built to link the southern region with the downtown areas.

The southern area has also ended its "no-subway" days. With three new lines, and extensions to the existing lines included, its subway routes now cover 118 kilometers, 90 kilometers of which were built over the past three years.

31 key projects helped improve the ecological environment in the southern areas of Beijing over the past three years. Four forest parks, covering a total of 1,400 hectares were developed and have been open to the public for free. The quality of the Yongding River water, the city's "mother river," has been substantially upgraded.

Public services and commercial facilities for residents in southern Beijing have also been enhanced, attracting more people to the area.

The five areas feature a combined land area of 3,367 square kilometers, accounting for about 20.5 percent of the city's total. By the end of 2008, 4.6 million people were residing in southern Beijing, whose GRP came to some 140 billion yuan (US$22.2 billion), making up for 13. 4 percent of the city's total.

The development of southern Beijing is of great significance for the capital city's future growth, as it boasts vast land resources and serves as a gateway to cooperation with the city's neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province.

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