Pocket parks: Green oases in urban neighborhoods

Earlier this year, Christian Arnaud Adjelou, president of the National Human Rights Council of Cote d'Ivoire, saw pocket parks in North China's Tianjin.

"These pocket parks not only make cities more pleasing and greener, but also deliver tangible benefits to people's health and daily travel convenience," he said. "As accessible spaces for physical exercise and recreational activities, they effectively guarantee the comfort, health, safety and well-being of the public, and constitute a vital component of human rights protection."

The National Greening Commission reported that China's forest and grass coverage rate has exceeded 56 percent thanks to its greening efforts. According to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), China will accelerate its green transition across the board and cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by a total of 17 percent in the 2026-30 period.

Li Chao, deputy director of the Jiayuguan housing and urban-rural development bureau, notes that by building two pocket parks annually, the city enables all citizens to share in the achievements accumulated through years of afforestation and eco-environmental protection.

Residents are deeply involved in the entire planning and construction process of pocket parks. Local authorities conduct door-to-door visits and community consultations to collect public opinion, which is fully incorporated to refine and finalize construction efforts that fit people's actual needs.

Many pocket parks also integrate distinctive local historical and cultural elements. For example, in Lanzhou in Gansu, one park near a residential community formerly affiliated with a steel enterprise is equipped with a "memory wall" that chronicles the factory's decades-long industrial development journey, evoking shared nostalgia among local residents.

"Pocket parks are no longer a distant destination we need to travel far to reach, but an extension of our own doorsteps," says Wang, a 65-year-old resident.