Bohai Economic Rim – future super city with 3% of the Worlds Population

The three major economic mega-urban zones are the pearl river delta in the south (merging into one 42 million person city) and Yangtze River delta around Shanghai and the Bohai economic rim

The area around Beijing and Tianjin, two of China’s most important cities, is being ringed with a network of high-speed railways that will create a super-urban area known as the Bohai Economic Rim. China is merging Beijing/Tianjin and several other cities around the Bohai Sea into one big super-urban zone over the next several years. By 2020 there could be 260,000,000 people (3% of the world’s population) in one big super-city.

Here is translation of a plan for the development of the Bohai Economic Rim.

The process of merging the Bohai region has already begun with the connection of Beijing to Tianjing by a high speed railway that completes the 75 mile journey in less than half an hour, providing an axis around which to create a network of feeder cities.

As the process gathers pace, total investment in urban infrastructure over the next five years is expected to hit £685 billion (about US$1 trillion), according to an estimate by the British Chamber of Commerce, with an additional £300 billion spend on high speed rail and £70 billion on urban transport.

Coastal Science and Technology Park completed within five years, ten kilometers roads comparable to Zhongguancun

“Laying the foundation year, three years paid off, five major development” is established in Yantai Hi-tech Zone Development Goals. According to the latest master plan introduced to Yantai Hi-tech Zone of the CBD as the leading technology driven, together with efforts to build high-end services, intensive with high-end manufacturing, leisure and tourism with coastal resort, riverside high-end scientific and cultural tourism zone, “as one four with “high-tech zones will hold up the layout of new industrial space; 10 km along the road on both sides of technology, planning and construction of 100 more than the roughly 30 stories about the amount of construction, building skyscrapers, modern style, the magnificent iconic urban landscape Boulevard ,

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) has an annual survey of the competitiveness of chinese cities. “2010 Blue Paper on the Competitiveness of Chinese Cities”

Beijing and Tianjin at night and map of the region

Bohai Economic Rim in Chinese map and english map

Inner Rim

Municipalities: Beijing and Tianjin (Binhai)
Hebei Province: Qinhuangdao, Chengde, Tangshan, Shijiazhuang, Cangzhou, Langfang, Baoding, and Zhangjiakou

Outer Rim

Liaoning Province: Dalian, Shenyang, Huludao, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Anshan, and Panjin
Shandong Province: Qingdao, Jinan, Weihai, Weifang, Yantai, Dongying, Binzhou, and Zibo

Major cities and population
Beijing 17,430,000
Tianjin 11,760,000
Dalian 6,200,000
Tangshan 7,100,000
Shenyang 7,760,000
Jinan 5,900,000
Qingdao 7,579,900
Weihai 2,596,753

So the major urban areas now have about 67 million people, but this is growing and there are minor cities and people in the spaces in between.

Many critics saying that China is overbuilding or this is leading to their downfall

The US interstate highway system – The initial cost estimate for the system was $25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $114 billion (adjusted for inflation, $425 billion in 2006 dollars) and took 35 years. The interstate highway system is an engine that has driven 40 years of unprecedented prosperity and positioned the United States to remain the world’s pre-eminent power into the 21st century.

President Obama’s State of the Union transportation plan calls for more investment in high-speed rail.

“Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. This could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car.”

Obama also reiterated a previously stated goal of having 1 million advanced technology vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015. The White House said in its summary that the president in his budget will propose improved consumer rebates for electric vehicle purchases, research and development spending, and programs to encourage communities to invest in electric charging stations.

So the US is trying to do some of the same things but less effectively, slower and at higher cost. Obama proposed about a $50 billion increase in transportation infrastructure and high speed rail projects. The US is already spending $150 billion on transportation annually (although not all the transportation budget actually goes to transportation.) The US has a budget of $800 billion defense and security establishment.

China is spending a few trillion and getting megacities and next generation transportation and communication infrastructure and US is spending comparable amounts and not even maintaining its existing infrastructure that well but a military that is delivering the results (which individuals can judge) in Iraq and Afghanistan (from 2002-2016+).

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