2025 is the horizon for the LRRP for the historic city of Guiyang. During the past decade, growth that could not be absorbed by the Old City led to development of a nearby ‘twin city’, thereby gradually altering the functions and status of the Old City. The need to find a better balance for the growth of the region led authorities to commission an LRRP to guide renewal of the Old City over the next decade.

To establish baseline conditions and redevelopment opportunities, extensive field surveys and data collection took place. This led to the discovery that the Guancheng River, a tributary to the Nanming River, had been covered by other uses. Restoring this river, introducing three new transit corridors, and deciding to retain existing road alignments became some of the primary strategies used to develop the design framework that underpins the LRRP.

Density has been raised by 30%, with a significant portion of this being in TOD nodes and along transit corridors. In most of the 56 tracts the existing balance of land uses is maintained in order to retain social and historic essence, open space and the public realm has been enhanced, and carefully inserted new roads and pedestrian links reduce block sizes and improved accessibility. The resulting form of the ‘new’ city speaks to the possibilities for balancing traditional values and lifestyles with the optimism of a progressive future without radical ‘surgery’. The Old City can retain its character and still be the heart of the region.