Tianjin’s rural development: association of industrial, agricultural, residential areas

In 2009, Tianjin’s Party committee and government integrated the 103 industrial zones into 31 industrial parks, to allocate different industries depending on regions for unified planning and construction. After integration, each industrial park was required to expand to 3 to 5 square kilometers in the near future, and more than 10 sq km in the long run. Tianjin has combined the industrial parks with the demonstration towns, so as to provide a beautiful residential environment and employment at the same time. The credit for agricultural parks’ development should go to the policy of “demonstration towns” which reclaimed farmland from farmers’ house and built modern agricultural parks with facilities, such as flower and vegetable greenhouses in Huaming town. Residential areas, industrial and agricultural parks will be closely associated in Tianjin’s suburb districts and counties. The association effort started in 2010 when Tianjin decided to foster a group of towns, counties and districts, and to lead the country in agricultural modernization, rural industrialization, and rural urbanization.

Tianjin planned to build livable residential communities, advanced manufacturing industries in the industrial parks, and modern agriculture suitable for coastal cities in the agricultural parks, and to realize co-development among the three zones.

By the end of 2015, 700,000 farmers had moved to 54 demonstration towns constructed in Tianjin. With salary, shares, rent and social security, more farmers are living and working in contentment.