Chongqing- Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality is accelerating its infrastructure on rail transit in the metropolitan area to increase the mileage and the passengers' ridership and improve the citizens' travel experience of walking to the station. On Tuesday, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced that the city plans to enhance the convenience of 60 Chongqing Rail Transit (CRT) stations' walking paths in three years.

Entrance No.4 of Danzishi Station, before and after (Photo provided to iChongqing)

The first project is the Danzishi Station of Loop Line, Entrance No.4 of Danzishi Station is built in a sunken space, used to be surrounded by concrete walls. Inspired by the Danzishi Old Street, the walls are decorated with traditional Chongqing dwellings after the renovation, highlighting the character of this district.

A local Bang bang man's statue becomes part of Entrance No.4 of Danzishi Station (iChongqing/Gaowei Zhang)

Entrance No.3 of Danzishi Station connects the station and Tenglong Avenue. It is the only way for the nearby communities residents to enter the station. According to Zhang Feng, a landscape designer from the Chongqing University Design Institute, the construction waste residue blocked the walking path here. Only a one-meter wide path was left, which was highly inconvenient for pedestrians.

Entrance No.3 of Danzishi Station, the dirt ground is covered by a beautiful colored running track (Photo provided to iChongqing)

After the renovation, it became a mini-garden not only for transportation but also a recreational place for residents. This space was built as a whole, incorporating the elements of mountains and rivers, making the environment here graceful and functional.

Entrance No.3 of Danzishi Station, it's also a little garden next to the neighborhood (iChongqing/Gaowei Zhang)

Another project is the Liujiaping Station of Line 6. The station faces the residential communities across the Baisha River, where hosts five to six thousand residents. Before this project, the walking distance between the communities and the station was about 30 minutes, and the road was extremely slippery on rainy days.

Liujiaping Station is built by the Baisha River, there are no bridges on the river, the residents on the left side used to walk a long way to get to the subway station (Photo provided to iChongqing)

The renovation work here added several trestle bridges. It combines the improvement of walking convenience with the action of clear water and green banks. The Y-shaped trail connects the community and the station, saving residents about two kilometers of detour distance. It takes only a few minutes to walk from home to the CTR station now.

The trestle bridge connects the communities and the station (iChongqing/Gaowei Zhang)

The Committee of Housing and Urban-Rural Development focuses on sorting out the pedestrian system within 800 meters around the CRT stations. 30 projects will be implemented this year, 27 projects have been started, and 15 have been completed. The upgrading project will eventually contribute to an integrated walking system of Chongqing.