Walking into Lexiang Park at the southwest corner of Jianshe Road and Changrun Road in Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng City, several elderly people were sitting around chatting, and children were playing around the swings, laughing and laughing. This small and exquisite green space has become a popular "check-in" spot for surrounding residents' daily leisure.
Citizen Yang Xihai stays here for more than an hour every day after picking up his granddaughter from school. "Children are very happy to have a place to play safely, and we parents can also rest nearby and relax."
Wang Yucheng, a nearby resident, also said that the pocket park not only enriches residents' daily leisure space, but also shortens the distance between neighbors. "The park has complete supporting facilities, making it convenient for the elderly to exercise and children to play. I come here two or three times a day."
Compared with large city parks, pocket parks are close to residential areas, accurately solving the people's livelihood pain points of "difficulty in nearby leisure and daily fitness", allowing ecological dividends and people's livelihood and well-being to reach people directly. This is also a vivid epitome of Shandong's use of urban "small land" to improve urban living environment.
At present, various parts of Shandong continue to revitalize illegally demolished land, street corner land, and idle urban land parcels, and build pocket parks according to local conditions, making "opening the window to see the greenery and going out to the park" become the normal life of citizens.
In the early morning, many citizens were already doing morning exercises in the "Qingfeng Garden" at the intersection of Funan Street and Wutun Road, Danyang Street, Luxi New District, Heze. On the colorful trail, the elderly walked slowly, and the children chased and played. This green space for citizens to relax and exercise was once a "grey corner" of the city that had been blocked for a long time and filled with waste.
"Qingfeng Garden" is located at the intersection of Funan Street and Wutun Road, Danyang Street, Luxi New District, Heze. Photo courtesy of Heze Luxi New District Office
In order to make up for the shortcomings of urban leisure facilities, Heze Luxi New District has invested a total of more than 2.3 million yuan in construction funds and dispatched more than 300 construction workers to transform this corner land of about 7,000 square meters into a pocket park.
The park is integrated into the comprehensive service function of "city station" and is equipped with drinking fountains, air conditioners, medical kits and other convenient facilities. Outdoor workers can come in for a drink of water and a rest after finishing their work. "This land has been surrounded before, but now it is much more open and the environment is good. We can go to the park at our doorstep." Pang Chenghong, a citizen who lives near Qingfeng Garden, said.
Juancheng County, Heze City, relies on key tasks such as the renovation of old residential areas, comprehensive improvement of the living environment, and improvement of urban greening, to promote the construction and renovation of pocket parks in batches, turning idle spaces into spaces that benefit the people.
During the construction and renovation process, Juancheng County focused on creating age-friendly pocket parks. Each park scientifically combines flowers, green plants, landscape seedlings, lays smooth and comfortable leisure trails, and is equipped with leisure seats, fitness equipment, children's play facilities, night lighting and other convenient facilities to fully meet the leisure needs of people of different age groups.
Today, pocket parks dotted throughout Juancheng’s urban areas and rural communities have become “happy resting places” at the doorsteps of residents. "In the past, I could only play with my children in front of my home. Now the pocket park next to the community has complete facilities and a safe venue. I can not only play with my children, but also chat with my neighbors." said Li Youmei, a citizen who took her children to play in the park.
In Jinan High-tech Zone, many citizens took advantage of the holidays to go to Rainbow Lake Talent Science and Technology Ecological Park, spread out a picnic mat and enjoy the scenery by the lake. The park covers a total area of about 560 acres, of which the lake area is about 200 acres. The park breaks the barriers of traditional park walls and integrates with urban roads and green belts, becoming a "public living room" where everyone can enter and stay.
Rainbow Lake Talent Science and Technology Ecological Park is located in Jinan High-tech Zone. (Data map) Photo provided by Jinan High-tech Zone
The functional layout of the park takes into account both fun and practicality, and the children's amusement park integrates popular science knowledge with unpowered amusement scenes. Children have fun in the sand pool and climbing net, and can also experience interesting physical devices with their own hands and gain knowledge during play. The park is equipped with smart facilities such as photovoltaic seats, smart runways, and automatic inspection robots, bringing citizens a convenient smart leisure experience.
Laiwu District of Jinan City is innovatively exploring a government-enterprise co-construction model to promote the quality and efficiency of urban green space. The local gardening department and agricultural science and technology enterprises jointly built a "happy garden" of about 300 square meters, close to urban vehicle roads and pedestrian trails, which not only optimizes the landscape in front of the enterprise, but also enhances the greening style of urban roads.
This project implements a government-enterprise linkage mechanism of "co-construction of sites, co-management of maintenance, sharing of resources, and sharing of results". After the garden is completed, both parties will coordinate the management, maintenance, and long-term operation and maintenance. The garden adopts a layered planting pattern of trees, shrubs, herbs and flowers, and integrates functions such as road landscape improvement, ecological leisure and recreation, and horticulture science education. It is not only a natural science classroom for teenagers, but also provides nearby residents with a green space for leisure and closeness to nature.
Small scenes benefit people’s livelihood. As Shandong continues to revitalize the idle "square-inch land" in the city and create more exquisite pocket parks that are friendly to the people, the livable scene of "seeing the green through the window and going out to the park" is gradually becoming the daily life of residents in the province. (over)
