2016年CRI Beijing Plans Ventilation Corridors to Blow away Smog

 

The idea is to build five major ventilation corridors, running from northern suburban¹ areas to the south.

They would be created by connecting Beijing's parks, rivers, lakes, and highways along with the capital's green belts, and possibly also by limiting the height of buildings.

Wang Fei, Deputy Director of the Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, says each of the corridors will be more than 500 meters wide, with some secondary ones over 80 meters wide.

"Five first-level and a dozen second-level ventilation tunnels will be built. There might even be third-level ones in the future. Based on the different conditions of the tunnels, we will conduct further studies with meteorological departments and other experts. Each tunnel will have a model. The aim is to ease the urban heat island effect and decrease air pollution."

One corridor will run through the central axis² of Beijing from Taiping Suburban Park in the north, via the Olympic Park, down to the Temple of Heaven, all the way through to the Beijing-Shanghai Highway at the southern end of the city.

Wang Kai, Vice³ President of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, says the corridors will act as an air passage, accelerating wind speed and improving the urban micro-climate.

"Geographically⁴ speaking, Beijing is located at the northern tip of the North China Plain, near the meeting point of the Xishan and Yanshan mountain ranges. Beijing's outlying districts and counties extend into the mountains that surround the city from the southwest to the northeast. The prevailing⁵ wind direction in summer is southeast while that in winter is northwest. Having ventilation corridors in Beijing's urban center will speed up ventilation and regulate the local micro-climate. "

Wang Kai also says that Beijing should also consider curbing⁶ the number and height of buildings in the municipality's urban center.

"Wind direction and speed are unpredictable therefore we can't just rely on the corridors. I think we should also tightly control the number of buildings in Beijing's urban center and their height. If you go to downtown Tokyo, London and Paris, you'll find most buildings there have less than ten storeys. At the same time, we should also add more green space."

By the end of next month, Beijing and its neighboring cities will start using uniform criteria⁷ when they issue pollution alerts, which will be categorized by Air Quality Index readings.

Response measures to alerts will stay the same although each city can decide if primary and middle schools should be temporarily closed.

The uniform alert system will first apply to Beijing, Tianjin and four cities in Hebei and then be extended across a larger area.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

1 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

2 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

5 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

6 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

7 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。