LU CHUNFANG, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that Futian is not only a model of land resource conservation, but also provides strong support for the construction of Shenzhen into a smart city.

Lu is among a number of academicians and scholars who suggested using smart technologies to solve urban ailments, such as pollution and traffic congestion, during a forum at the Fourth Shenzhen Smart City International Expo 2018 in August.

Lu, who has witnessed the entire process of the construction of the Futian CBD transport hub, from the initial application to the final phases, said that transitioning into a smart city can solve the problems of traffic congestion and pollution.

“After rounds of discussions, we finally decided to build an underground railway station in Futian CBD to connect with Hong Kong and Guangzhou and integrate the Pearl River Delta Area,” said Lu, former vice minister of railways, in an interview.

As an underground railway station in the CBD, the transport hub, which also provides connection with six Metro lines, will drive regional development in its one- to two-hour travel circle. It will play a more important role after the opening of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. The annual passenger turnover at the station is expected to reach 20 million, and its data will provide strong support for smart city construction.

The Fourth China Smart City International Expo 2018, held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian between Aug. 21 and 22, attracted more than 40 academicians and over 400 institutions and enterprises offering services related to building smart cities. Shenzhen Mayor Chen Rugu delivered a welcome speech at the opening ceremony.

According to Chen, smart city bears the expectation that science and technology can change the way we live and adds new impetus to high-quality economic development.

“The city government has made building a smart city a key task and strives to further accelerate the construction of information networks and service infrastructure, such as the Internet, IoT [Internet of Things] and cloud computing,” Chen said.

(Han Ximin)