Pocket parks add convenience to comfort

When night fell on a recent Monday night, lights illuminated the streets of Huangshan in East China's Anhui province.

Some children were trying to "catch" shadows of moths cast by the lights at a street corner, while the adults were either sitting on benches or exercising on public sports equipment.

Located in the urban Tunxi district, the area is the Tunxi Dialect Pocket Park, attracting visitors not only with its garden setting, but also its many conveniences.

It is one of many pocket parks that have been established in recent years on sites that have been unused for a long time.

The city created seven high-quality pocket parks last year and will build another 11 this year, said Hu Zhiyong, an official with the Huangshan housing and urbanrural development bureau.

In 2012, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development released a guideline for promoting development of urban parks. One of its aims was to enable urban residents to reach a green space within 300 meters and a park within 500 meters of their homes.

In May, Huangshan was listed among the Top 10 Most Beautiful Cities in China based on a survey conducted jointly by the China Media Group, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the China Post Group Corporation.

The list evaluated cities across the country on criteria such as afforestation and urban landscapes.

With the renowned Huangshan, or Yellow Mountain, Huangshan has seen an afforestation rate of 82.9 percent, the highest among the province's 16 multiplicities.

Wang Rongming, a resident of Tunxi, said he was glad to see pocket parks sprouting in the city, which have spruced up communities and created more green spaces for residents to rest and relax.

"A pocket park is small in size but with enough functions to meet residents' needs," said Wang, adding that his older relatives love the parks, which are also equipped with toilets and drinking water taps.

Earlier this year, the provincial authorities announced a plan to build 200 more urban pocket parks across Anhui in order to optimize urban green spaces.

Xu Sheng contributed to this story.