A group of overseas students from more than 10 higher education institutions in Shenyang, Liaoning province, including Liaoning University and China Medical University, recently visited the Mudan residential community in the city's Huanggu district, along with their Chinese schoolmates, to learn about grassroots-level services for senior residents and children.
The research tour in December enabled the college students from home and abroad to gain a better understanding of what China's administration is like at the grassroots level, and provided a glimpse into how Liaoning commits itself to national development strategies, organizers said.
The event also put Huanggu district into the media limelight.
As a priority on the district government's work agenda, Huanggu is focused on building itself into the country's model urban area and is advancing an urban renewal campaign in a bid to create a smart city that features a friendly environment and a resilient economy, Li Sheng, secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party of China, said at a recent news conference.
Taking a people-centered approach to their work, local officials said improving people's quality of life is where across-the-board work of the district government starts. That is also the ultimate goal of their work, they noted.
In pursuit of the harmonious integrated development of industry production, improved lives of residents and ecological preservation, Huanggu places great emphasis on overall urban planning, as well as increasing the efficiency of industrial spatial layout.
The government will carry out an initiative aimed at all-around improvement to urban life quality, uplift the delicacy management of the district, and create a prime environment for both residents and businesses in tune with top-notch standards, local officials said.
On the infrastructure front, the district government plans to continue upgrading four major roads, renovate 34 backstreets and revamp 10 drainage pipelines in 2023.
Also on the district government's to-do list is to give a face-lift to 89 old residential communities next year. Its target is to complete the renovation of 241 such communities across the district within three years.
In addition, the government will have 100 pocket parks built in the coming year. A pocket park refers to a small urban park accessible to the public.
The government's tasks include increasing employment, expanding social insurance beneficiary coverage and ensuring that low-income families' needs are met, officials said.
Some 11,000 new jobs are projected to be created and the number of pilot communities that enjoy government-sponsored elder care services will be expanded to 65 in Huanggu next year, with 3,000 square meters of service utilities completed, according to the district government.
A college student from Russia, who is studying in Shenyang, learns about local children's computer skills during a visit to the city's Huanggu district in November. CHINA DAILY
