On August 3, the Kunming government released a comprehensive development plan for the city over the next 12 years.

In the course of the next dozen years, three core areas will be built up:

1. The main urban area (主城), consisting of the Guandu, Panlong, Wuhua and Xishan urban districts;

2. Chenggong new city (呈贡新城), located approximately 25 kilometers southeast of the main urban area;

3. The new airport economic zone (空港经济区), which will be northeast of the main urban area.

Kunming will expand primarily to the northeast and southeast, with this phase of growth supported by the construction of the city's first urban rail network.

Road connectivity between the main urban area and outlying towns including Haikou, Kunyang and Jinning will be upgraded to create a transportation network that encircles Dianchi Lake.

Within the main urban area, an 'urban ecological control belt' (城市生态控制带) will be established, consisting of Xishan and Dianchi National Scenic Area. Outside of the city, the Qiaozi Snow Mountain scenic area, Xundian Red Tourism Scenic Area, Jiuxiang National Scenic Area, Stone Forest National Scenic Area, Yangzonghai Tourism and Holiday area and other tourist areas within Kunming municipality will be administered as 'urban ecological scenic controlled areas' (城市生态景观控制区).

Five 'functional zones' within the main urban area will be created, with the area within the second ring road as the center of four other areas to the north, east, south and west. This is what the city plans for each zone:

Center: Public services infrastructure and green space coverage will be improved and population density reduced.

North: Heavily polluting industrial operations will be gradually moved out.

West: Heavily polluting industrial operations will be gradually moved out.

South: With the pending retirement of Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, the area currently occupied by the airport will be redeveloped for urban use. The airport land plus the nearby exhibition halls and Baohai Park will serve as a secondary city center.

At the same time, Dianchi National Scenic Area, Caohai Ecological Park and Daguan Park will be built up into a sports, leisure and tourism area. There will also be extensive residential space in the area, as well as many municipal administrative offices and traffic infrastructure leading out of Kunming.

East: The layout and composition of the Kunming Economic Development Zone will be optimized so that it serves as a more streamlined industrial hub.

Tags: Caohai, Chenggong, city expansion, Stone Forest, urban rail network