On May 2, Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street drew large crowds of residents and tourists. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)

Chongqing - Chongqing will strictly restrict super high-rises under revised urban planning rules taking effect on January 1, 2027, shaping future development in the mountainous riverside city. 

In mountainous Chongqing, “street level” can be 22 storeys above another road, making addresses tricky to follow. At Kuixing Tower, the square reached from Linjiang Road is marked as the ground floor but sits atop a 22-storey building. At Hongya Cave, the entrance on Cangbai Road is on the complex’s 11th floor.

To make locations inside buildings easier to identify, the revised regulation introduces a reference level, marked ±0.000, at the finished indoor floor of the main entrance on the street-access floor. This becomes the building’s vertical “zero point,” with all other locations measured above or below it.

This common reference point helps planners manage above-ground, underground and partly underground structures, make better use of suspended and stilt-supported floors, and create spaces with entrances at different street levels, a defining feature of mountain cities.

The rules require view corridors that keep mountains and rivers visible, and encourage elevators, escalators, cableways and funiculars to link walking and cycling routes across the city’s steep terrain.

They also promote mixed-use development and more efficient use of space, removing size-based criteria for identifying scattered land parcels. 

Idle and underused land can be brought back into use, including for public parking and small bus terminals. Older residential compounds are encouraged to add elevators, entrance halls, covered walkways and parking structures as part of comprehensive upgrades.

Public pedestrian passages must be built on plots longer than 400 meters along street frontages to avoid long detours. The rules call for integrated design of rail stations, overpasses and underground passages with adjacent buildings, and prioritize age-friendly, child-friendly and barrier-free facilities.

Bus terminals shall be integrated with commercial facilities and large residential communities. The transfer distance between bus and rail stops shall be kept within 50 meters to improve the 15-minute high-quality living circle.

Hospitals and schools must optimize traffic organization to ease congestion. Rail stations will have multiple dispersed entrances to cut walking distances and boost travel comfort.

Large public buildings must set back at least 15 meters from urban roads to create buffer space for passenger flow. The rules promote three-dimensional land development and the utilization of existing spaces. 

Municipal transport facilities shall coordinate above-ground and underground layouts, supporting mixed-use and over-track development. Rail station entrances and other ancillary facilities shall be integrated with surrounding buildings, and surplus rail space can be put to rational use.

New provisions require green spaces at both ends of river-crossing bridges. The document also specifies design standards and connection forms for expressways, arterial and sub-arterial roads. New motor vehicle accesses to urban roads will be strictly controlled.

To balance planning stability and adaptability, the revised rules adopt an innovative 1+N institutional framework. 

The "1" stands for the government regulation (the rules itself) that ensures stable planning management. The "N" refers to dynamic technical supporting documents, which will be adjusted flexibly to guarantee scientific and orderly urban planning.