The city of Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province was presented an Award for Excellence at the 46th ISOCARP Congress in Kenya, Africa on Sept 24, 2010, becoming the first city in China to receive such an honor.

ISOCARP stands for the International Society of City and Regional Planners, a global association of experienced professional planners. The Award for Excellence is considered the highest-level prize for regions with excellent strategic planning.

Lv Chuanting (L), an official from the Guangzhou land resources & urban planning committee receives an excellence award from a representative of the ISOCARP. [Photo/upo.gov.cn]

Guangzhou, a city ever seeking innovation and transformation, has achieved the international award through its constant efforts in the past years.

In as early as 2000, Guangzhou began planning to become a sustainable city. By learning from the experiences of other global cities in urban development and planning, Guangzhou has forged a path to sustainability.

Professionals of ISOCARP consider Guangzhou's strategic plan innovative, flexible, promising and advanced.

Lv gives a presentation on Guangzhou's strategic planning at the 46th ISOCARP Congress. [Photo/upo.gov.cn]

From 2000 to 2009, the GDP of Guangzhou increased by 2.3 folds, reaching $133.8 billion. Millions of people living in old downtown areas have successfully migrated to suburbs, helping build an optimal city structure.

The green coverage reached to 44.4 percent during that period, with the urban green area share growing to 13 square meters per capita.

By the end of 2010, a total of 236 km of roads had been connected with subways and 480 km had been incorporated into greenways.

Guangzhou, the capital of Guangzhou province becomes the first city in China to receive an ISOCARP Award for Excellence. [Photo/upo.gov.cn]