Photo: Courtesy of the organizer of the event "A Green Trip: Beyond What You See"

The event A Green Trip: Beyond What You See was held in Beijing's sub-center Tongzhou on Thursday with the aim of allowing Chinese and foreign media representatives and internet celebrities to experience the fast and green development of the district.    

During the event, they sailed on the Grand Canal, walked through an urban forest, visited the library, and experience intangible cultural heritage. The trip helped them explore the future development potential of new productive forces, and deeply experience the new changes and achievements of the sub-center as a national green development demonstration zone in green ecology, green buildings, and green industries.

The visitors paid a visit to the Beijing Library, one of three major cultural landmarks opened in the district in December 2023. Covering a collective area of 550,000 square meters, the  new landmarks were the Beijing Performing Arts Center, the Beijing Library and the Grand Canal Museum of Beijing. The three venues share a space that utilize a ground-source heat pump system for heating and cooling. This system reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 10,000 metric tons annually and cuts energy consumption by 3,800 metric tons of standard coal equivalent, achieving an energy-saving rate of approximately 45 percent, according to Pan Jiachen, deputy director of the Green Energy Department of an ecological environment subsidiary under the Beijing Investment Group. 

The implementation plan for building a national green development demonstration zone at the sub-center also aims to make Tongzhou a model for the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Central Green Forest Park, a green gem embedded within the sub-center, serves as a natural oxygen bar for residents. 

With a planned area of 11.2 square kilometers and a forest coverage rate of over 85 percent, the park has welcomed over 10 million visitors since opening in 2020. Additionally, the park aims to restore ecological functions and protect biodiversity by setting up an ecological buffer zone and an animal migration corridor.

After the trip, Garbuzova Sofia from Russia, a key opinion leader and international student at Beijing Language and Culture University, was impressed by the green development in Tongzhou. Besides the beautiful scenery, she also learned about the ecological transformation of industrial sites and the history of the Grand Canal.