The Guashan community, once a run-down village in Hangzhou's Gongshu district, is designated as a pilot area for the construction of "future communities" in 2019. The renovated community is now a popular residential area among highly educated young citizens. [Photo/ zj.zjol.com.cn]

The Zhejiang provincial government held a teleconference in the provincial capital of Hangzhou on Sept 24 to discuss the construction of "future communities", a concept first raised by the province's government work report in early 2019.

Zheng Shanjie, acting governor of Zhejiang province, made a keynote speech at the conference in which he summarized the achievements the province has made in building "future communities" and put forward new instructions.

Zhejiang authorities envision the concept of "future communities" as a "139" system: with the "1" referring to people's desire for a better life; "3" referring to the three principles of "people first", environmental friendliness, and digitalization; and the "9" referring to the nine areas which will be the focus of innovation in the communities – neighborhood, education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, architecture, transportation, low-carbon lifestyle, services, and social governance.

According to Zheng, Zhejiang has so far ascertained 60 pilot projects to be carried out in "future communities", which are expected to benefit 638,000 residents. Construction on 16 of the projects is already underway and has drawn a total investment of 33.66 billion yuan ($4.93 billion).

More than 60 well-known companies, such as Alibaba Group and China State Construction Engineering Corporation, have signed cooperation agreements with Zhejiang authorities to help construct "future communities", some 300 enterprises, headed by Alibaba, have formed an industry league focusing on the communities, and 25 key research institutes and universities have co-established a dedicated research center to help develop the communities.

According to Zheng, Zhejiang will have amassed around 100 pilot projects to be carried out in "future communities" by the end of 2021, those of which are successful will be recognized and promoted across the province.