Recently, Beijing has completed its three-year campaign to renovate and upgrade under-bridge spaces, with improvement projects finished at all 346 bridge areas across the city.

After the renovation of the space beneath Tianningsi Bridge, new family-friendly play areas and amusement facilities were added to the area.

Three years of systematic improvements have delivered impressive results across Beijing's under-bridge spaces. In total, Beijing has demolished 47,000 square meters of structures beneath bridges, removed 73,000 meters of outdated guardrails, tidied up 57,600 meters of overhead utility wires, upgraded 732,000 square meters of pavement, and added 6,505 square meters of green space. Meanwhile, Beijing has continuously unlocked the potential of underused urban space by upgrading 13,373 parking spaces and adding 7,928 more, making more efficient use of existing land resources.

Children practice shooting hoops on the basketball court under Tianningsi Bridge.

To meet the charging needs of new energy vehicles (NEVs), Beijing has steadily advanced the construction of charging facilities under bridges, working case by case with safety as the priority, and has continued to widen the coverage of these green public services.

To address issues such as inadequate pedestrian facilities, insufficient signage, and disconnected accessible facilities around some bridge areas and under-bridge parking lots, the city has carried out comprehensive surveys and set up a dedicated renovation plan covering 47 bridges and 141 sites. The city has also continued to improve walking and cycling connections, directional signage and accessibility functions, while working with multiple departments to conduct regular traffic management and raise public awareness, creating a safer and more convenient environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

After the renovation of the Caihuying Bridge area, 19 previously scattered plots without unified planning have been reorganized into nine well-planned parking areas.

As a key district in Beijing's central urban area renovation, Fengtai District advances comprehensive management and quality improvements of bridge areas within its jurisdiction with high standards. Over three years, the district has carried out renovation of 26 bridge areas and quality upgrading of 8 bridge areas. It has demolished 708 management facilities beneath bridges with a total area of around 16,000 square meters, removed 14,000 meters of outdated guardrails, and added 1,500 flower boxes and 1,300 linear meters of flower beds under bridges. In all, it freed up about 120,000 square meters of quality public space and added 2,700 public parking spaces, markedly changing under-bridge areas that had long been disorderly, wasteful, and lacking in function.

(Source: The Beijing News)