Project plans to improve conditions for pedestrians and encourage more people to enjoy their city

Beijing's best walking routes, as voted by almost 3,500 residents, were finally announced on Sunday.

After a month-long online poll, which started on April 22, city authorities have been able to whittle 700 candidates down to the "top 10" with the help of netizens, experts and field surveys.

Routes had to be safe and comfortable, such as away from traffic and with large areas of shade, and had to pass beautiful scenery or sites of cultural or historical importance.

Seven of the routes are inside the Fifth Ring Road, while the rest are spread across Shunyi district and Miyun and Yanqing counties.

"It is not just about the 10 routes," said Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the capital's environmental protection bureau.

"What we really want is to get people's attention to this green travel mode and to figure out inconveniences for pedestrians on the city's roads and streets, so that we can fix them.

"The roads will become more friendly to pedestrians with more and more people walking outside."

METRO will publish detailed maps of each route, with information on what to see and do along the way, in coming weeks. The first will appear on June 2.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/23/2011)