Planning Area: A total area of 2413 km² covering Qingpu district in Shanghai (669 km²), Wujiang District in Jiangsu province (1237 km²), and Jiashan County in Zhejiang Province (507 km²). Start-up zones of 660 km² in the area included Jinze Town and Zhujiajiao Town of Qingpu District, Shanghai, Lili Town of Wujiang District, Suzhou City, and Xitang Town and Yaozhuang Town of Jiashan County, Jiaxing.

Spatial Layout: In the diverse ecological landscape of intermixed water bodies, the plan aimed to improve the overall water remediation, launch regional systematic water safety projects from the perspective of ecological water conservancy. Guided by the principle of “prioritizing ecosystem and pursuing green development”, it reduced consumption, increased capacity and improved quality. The plan focused on forming the four major systems of water protection and remediation, carrying forward key concepts of green development, gradually making rivers and lakes more clean, safe and beautiful, establishing a versatile and river-interconnected ecosystem, and creating a regional integrated green development system featured by green products, industries and culture.

Objectives: With building the Integration Demonstration Zone at the core and establishing a high-quality aquatic infrastructure system as the top priority, the plan protected rivers and lakes in the area, restore the local aquatic ecosystem, improve water quality, secure water safety system, boost virtuous circulation of water, and promote intelligent, scientific and efficient water management to set an exemplary model of a world-class waterfront residential area.

Strategies: We integrated water area optimization, water safety assurance, water environment protection, water resource allocation, water ecosystem restoration, water culture rejuvenation and water management innovation into the overall aquatic ecosystem comprehensive remediation plan and the implementation system to consolidate the local ecological foundation and further the green development of the demonstration zone.

The Integration Demonstration Zone is a top priority and breakthrough point for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. It needs to demonstrate the new development philosophy that the region adheres to, give an impetus to the institutional and methodological innovation in advancing high-quality development, explore an eco-friendly development mode, and shift the focus from scale to innovation. It is also required to take the lead in translating the leading position of the Yangtze River Delta in ecological progress into the strengths in economic and social development, migrate from regional project collaboration to institutional innovation in the integrated region, and facilitate consultation, joint contribution, co-administration, shared benefits and win-win progress among different administrative regions.