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Capital Plans 800 More Parks Before 2008 Olympics

The local municipality plans to create 800 more parks in the city, bringing the total to 960 by 2008, said officials at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Parks and Woods. The current 160 parks, the most for any Chinese city, is almost four times the number that existed in the early 1980s.

Tourism statistics show that about 110 million tourists visit Beijing's major parks each year. Prime among these are Beihai and Jingshan, which open at sunrise for use by Beijingers who dance or practice Tai Chi. While Beijing has the country's largest number of parks, their per capita park space is only three square meters, far smaller than the average level in other cities. It has also been announced that more than 60 percent of Beijing's parks will become free to city residents in future.