Guangyuan in Sichuan province takes on a new look after implementing a sponge city construction plan. [Photo provided to cngy.gov.cn]

In recent years, Guangyuan city in Sichuan province has actively addressed issues such as waterlogging, runoff pollution control and the utilization of recycled water and rainwater resources to meet people's expectations for a better life.

At the end of 2023, Guangyuan became one of the first pilot cities in China for the United Nations' "Making Cities Resilient 2030", a unique cross-stakeholder initiative to establish mutually reinforcing city-to-city learning networks.

To date, the city has developed a sponge environment covering 30.02 square kilometers, which accounts for 41.49 percent of its constructed area.

In the renovation process of old residential areas, Guangyuan adheres to the principle of "rainwater ground diversion and sewage underground pipelines." This approach efficiently managed surface runoff and reduced the need for rainwater pipeline networks by about 9,000 meters, saving costs of 7.1 million yuan ($976,810.9).

Furthermore, Guangyuan has imbued new residential buildings with the sponge city concept. On rainy days, the streets no longer flood, and the newly built rainwater gardens and sunken green spaces on both sides of streets have become attractive community features.

As of now, the city has renovated 89 sponge residential communities and 68 sponge blocks, yielding 5,500 square meters of water gardens and 8,300 square meters of sunken green spaces.