Sunday, March 02, 2008

Tianjin Launches Energy Efficiency Initiatives


A small town turned into the largest financial, industrial and economic center, Tianjin had been enjoying a wealth of resource in the delta of Haihe River until 1949. The communism party decided the selected capital city Beijing should be the largest of all in China in every aspect. The enlarged Beijing sucked in living and development resource from the entire nation, and particularly from its neighboring areas, Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality. Miles from the border of Beijing, the luxury showcase city, lies a ring of the most poverty area in China, the Hebei Province. 60 miles down soutcheast, Tianjin the once most prosperous city in northern China is facing the realty with no water to drink and no electricity to light residents' houses.

In a way, it inspired the Tianjin government expedite the exploration and adoption of new energy and new technology to save energy. The TEDA (Tianjin Economic and Technology Development Area) tower makes use of the wind power and takes consideration of the energy flow is one example of the effort, and the first eco-friendly building in China. TEDA is also experimenting LED lights in street illumination, the first city wide effort in China. A Sino-Singapore eco-city campus was signed last November and has begun construction in Tianjin also.

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