On the afternoon of April 4, a special conference was held in Wuhan to hear the reports on planning of the new urban district construction of Yichang City. The provincial party committee and government highly assured and approved the scheme of Conceptual Master Planning and Comprehensive Design of New Urban District of Yichang City. Li Hongzhong, Secretary of Provincial Committee of the CPC and Wang Guosheng, Governor of People’s Government of Hubei Province attended the conference, and commented that the scheme reflects the new requirements of central and provincial party committees for future development of Yichang City and also gives full expression to perspective and top-class designing concept of international and national levels with high quality that has satisfied the provincial committee and government. They also instructed that planning and design fulfill the highest standard of modern city construction concept and give prominence to scientific and ecologic development to achieve unconventional construction of Yichang City into an Eco-city agreeable for life, habitation and business. The other provincial leaders also attended the conference, including Zhang Chang’er, deputy secretary of provincial party committee, Wang Xiaodong, executive vice governor, Fu Dehui, standing committee member and secretary-general of provincial party committee, and the conference was presided over by Zhang Tong, vice governor. Wang Xiangxi, secretary-general of the provincial government also attended the conference.
　　In February, 2013，the Government of Hubei Province approved the urban master planning of Yichang City including the new urban district covering 220 km2 with a construction land of 105 km2. The municipal government then launched worldwide solicitation of the designing schemes for planning of the new urban district construction, and the solicitation attracted over 120 designing institutions from home and abroad. Assessed by panels of experts, the designing scheme by Arcadis NV was recognized as the best, and Arcadis NV was employed to cooperate with Wuhan Planning & Design Institute to complete the scheme of Conceptual Master Planning and Comprehensive Design of New Urban District of Yichang City together. The scheme was believed to have reflected the new requirements of central and provincial party committees for future development of Yichang City and also gives full expression to perspective and top-class designing concept of international and national levels.
　　Since the beginning of this year, successive visits have been paid to other cities in Jiangsu, Henan, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Guizhou and so on for investigations of new urban construction and have organized two investment promotion activities, in which cooperation agreements were signed with 12 state-owned key enterprises and 12 enterprises of Macao and Hong Kong with a total investment capital of over 32 billion US dollars. At present, the new urban district is under construction with basic items including afforestation and beautification being conducted orderly.
　　The conference finally arrived at an instructive view that Yichang as a provincial sub-central city plays a very important role in the development of Hubei Province, and it is key task to launch the new urban district construction project of Yichang City, which promotes transformation of Yichang into a modern megacity and demonstrates great significance in implementation of the strategy of provincial development with “Wuhan as the center and Yichang and Xiangyang as two sub-central cities” and formation of multi-supported pattern. At the conference, the related officials from the relevant departments and institutions under the provincial government promised to offer their supports and aids as soon and much as possible in the course of construction of the new urban district of Yichang.
　　The leaders of provincial party committee and government at the conference gave their instructions on planning and design of the new urban district respectively from all-round perspectives.
　　In his report on the planning and design of new urban district, Huang Chuping, a member of provincial standing party committee and secretary of Yichang municipal party committee, pointed out that the provincial conference is the significant symbol of construction of the new urban district of Yichang City, and the instructions of the leaders of the provincial party committee and government should be adequately interpreted; it is important and necessary to seize and make full use of the opportunity to construct the new urban district and to make great achievements in each stage in the following years.
　　Several other related officials from municipal party committee and government of Yichang City attended the special conference, including Ma Xuming, deputy secretary of municipal party committee and acting mayor, who reported on construction of the new urban district at the conference together with the heads of Arcadis NV and Wuhan Planning & Design Institute as the two institutions employed for master planning and comprehensive design.