A small park is built in the lane, offering a good resting place for residents. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Copenhagen's mayor Frank Jensen says he was excited when Copenhagen was chosen as the guest city of this year's Beijing Design Week, a large design event in Asia.

"The Qinglong Hutong Community Renewal Project is one of the major events of the guest city program, and I hope the project can combine the hutong's cultural heritage and Copenhagen's sustainable solutions for cities," says Jensen.

The project's objectives are integrated with the Danish concept of livable-city construction, applying green, recyclable and sustainable Danish concepts of city design, energy saving and environmental protection.

Mads Jensen Moller, CEO of the Danish design company, Archiland, which has been working on the project since last year, has brought the Danish livability perspective to the program. And he is impressed with its first-phase feats.

Moller is happy to see that all the cables are down and invisible. Also, he says, there used to be a barrier between the northern-side office buildings and Qinglong Hutong.

"That wall is now removed, and there is a small public space in between－that is one of our ideas that has already been implemented," he says.

Moller originally planned a new parking lot to harbor the lane's scattered cars, but the idea hasn't been realized yet.

"I look forward to seeing what the area will look like in a few years," says Moller.

In the second phase, there will be a Sino-Danish innovation center, among other new additions.