ABSTRACT
The construction of “eco-cities” in China started in 1988 with Yichun City in Jiangxi Province. In the early 1990s, some Chinese scholars tried to introduce the concept of the “garden city” or the “landscape city.” In 1995, the government initiated a plan to establish National Ecological Model Zones (NEMZs). During 2000–2011, the Ministry of Environment Protection approved 528 NEMZs at different administrative levels, including province, city, district, and county. In 2008, the pilot project of the Ecological Civilization Pioneer Model Zones (ECPMZs) was initiated, and in July 2014, the first group of 55 locations was announced. This chapter compares NEMZs in the coastal regions of southeast China. This chapter discusses five selected cases of eco-cities, Jiangdu City in Jiangsu, Lin’an City in Zhejiang, Zhuhai City in Guangdong, Sanya City in Hainan, and Jianyang City in Fujian, and five selected cases of developing ECPMZs in coastal southeast China, Zhenjiang City in Jiangsu, Hangzhou city in Zhejiang, Fujian Province, Meizhou City in Guangdong, and Hainan Province. These cases are the earliest designated locations. The achievements and limitations of each location are highlighted.
