Neighborhoods across Huzhou China use smart solutions to reduce carbon footprint

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

With the world population growing exponentially, and warfare exacerbating poverty and gas shortages, the prospect of lowering the carbon footprint seems grim. Nevertheless, the power of individual communities is strong and many neighborhoods across China are taking steps to create a greener future in line with the commitments made by the Chinese government in the Paris agreement.

According to People’s Daily, communities across east China's Zhejiang province are particularly committed to lowering their carbon emissions. In 2019, the provincial government launched a pilot plan to build smart, harmonious and green "communities of the future".

Nanxun, district in the city of Huzhou, Zhejiang, has developed a home-based nursing center, a smart telemedicine program and an unattended gym which not only lower carbon emissions by reducing the need for transportation but also provide a faster and more optimal service to the citizens.

Li Xiaoping, who suffers from high blood pressure, used to have to travel long distances to the hospital quite often. Thanks to online medical consultation available at her local health center, she is now able to contact the doctors much faster whenever she is feeling unwell: "I never thought that I could see a doctor on the screen, which took me only five minutes," Li said.

Ditang community in Nanxun district, Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang province after low-carbon renovation 

Ditang was among the first communities built under the "communities of the future" program. According to Zheng Zhifeng, operation manager of the program at Ditang, the district was built following green principles. "We want to build a carbon-neutral community, so we used as many low-carbon materials as possible for the construction work," Zheng affirmed. The community, which disposes of 100 kilograms of kitchen waste daily, ferments organic waste at garbage classification stations and then uses it as fertilizer. Moreover, the community saves almost 55 percent of overall energy consumption, of which the energy-saving rate of buildings reaches 39.1%. These high savings owe to the installation of photovoltaic power generation and water source heat pumps as well as the development of a smart transport system.

Nanxun district is among many others across Huzhou where smart, environmentally friendly solutions have been implemented. Other examples include the Wuxing district where local industrial enterprises are able to lower their carbon emissinos thanks to a digital platform which monitors energy consumption in real time. In turn, in Nantaihu New Area, over 90 percent of large enterprises have built green factories.

Today, communities across Huzhou are increasingly aware of the importance of a green and low-carbon lifestyle, which not only helps to protect the environment but also contributes to health and economic sustainability. So far, there have been forty-two "communities of the future" programs launched in the city and since the beginning of 2022, the city of Huzhou has built green buildings over an area of 16 million square meters.  

Source: People's Daily