Readers immerse themselves in books at a cultural center in Chaoyang district. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The local authority said waterfronts are an important constituent part of a city's open space that helps to enrich the urban landscape.

Chaoyang saw its air quality improve in the first half of this year with the concentration of hazardous airborne PM 2.5 decreasing 10.4 percent year-on-year. It has set up an atmospheric control office, focused on monitoring related data and helps key sub-districts and townships to improve. To this end, the local authority promoted use of 35 electric taxis and built 692 public vehicle charging sites in the first six months of this year.

Wang Hao, Party secretary of the district, said: "We need to accelerate the construction of ecological civilization and further optimize green and industrial spatial layout ... focusing on high-quality development and eco-friendly space expansion."

Old production facilities stand intact at 751D Park, a cultural industrial zone transformed from an industrial site. [PHOTO BY HU KAI/FOR CHINA DAILY]