The Academic Symposium on Planning and Execution of Beijing’s Second Greening Isolation Area took place on May 19th at Tsinghua University’s Main Building Lecture Hall. Hosted by Beijing’s Leadership Group for Urban-Rural Integration Construction and organized by the Beijing Municipal Institute of Urban Planning and Design, the event was presided over by Kang Sen, Director of the Municipal Urban and Rural Office, Wang Hao, Deputy Secretary General of the Municipal Party Committee, and Li Feng, Deputy Director of the Land Space Planning Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources, delivered speeches. Shi Xiaodong, member of Party Leadership Group and Director General of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, was invited to the symposium and delivered a keynote speech. Representatives from government departments at various levels, district bureaus, and technical units attended the symposium, including Chen Jing, Chief Economist of the Beijing Municipal Institute of Urban Planning and Design, and relevant officials from the Institute’s Rural Planning Office also attended the symposium.

Li Feng emphasized in his opening speech that the planning of Beijing’s second green area, as a large-scale implementation plan, aligns with the CPC Central Committee’s “Beautiful China” initiative and the concept of people-centered development. He described it as a practical manifestation of Xi Jinping’s ecological civilization thought and an innovative solution to various challenges. Li Feng expressed the hope that Beijing’s experience would be scaled up nationwide and integrated effectively with broader regional land improvement initiatives.

The seminar’s keynote session focused on the planning and execution of the second green area, addressing urban land value, landscape and ecological significance, large-scale projects, rural revitalization, urban renewal, and heritage preservation. Shi Xiaodong, along with prominent figures like Li Xiong, Vice President of Beijing Forestry University and Vice President of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, and Shao Feng, Guest Professor at Zhejiang University’s China Rural Development Research Institute, delivered keynote speeches. Other distinguished speakers such as Zhang Jie, Special Dean of Beijing Architecture University’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning; Zhu Daolin, Vice President of China Agricultural University’s College of Land Science and Technology, Special Ombudsman for National Natural Resources, and chairman of Beijing Land Science Society; and Gao Guoli, Director of the Center for Urban and Small Town Reform and Development at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and a doctoral supervisor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also contributed insights.

Shi Xiaodong elaborated on the value proposition, characteristics, and execution strategies of the Second Greening Isolation Area Plan. He underscored its role as an integral component of the revised Beijing Urban Master Plan and a systematic approach to ecological space governance in a mega-city context. He also emphasized the need to maximize the ecological, social, and economic value of the second green area and to explore effective management of cross-regional urban green belt.

In his closing remarks, Wang Hao, Deputy Secretary General of CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, expressed gratitude to all sectors of society for their sustained support for Beijing’s second green isolation area development. He reaffirmed Beijing’s commitment to people-centered development and ongoing efforts and called for collective action in opening a new chapter of urban green governance.