China Unveils Sweeping Urban Renewal Plan Under 15th Five-Year Plan
China has released its first-ever national-level special plan dedicated to urban renewal, marking a strategic shift from rapid urban expansion to quality-oriented stock improvement. The “Urban Renewal 15th Five-Year Plan,” issued as State Council Document No. 12 on May 22 and published on May 28, 2026, sets ambitious targets for renovating old residential districts, factory zones, and historic neighborhoods across the country over the 2026–2030 period, according to the State Council.
The plan targets the renovation and upgrading of 1,500 old neighborhood blocks and factory zones, the renovation of 115,000 old residential communities (focusing on those built 20 or more years ago), and the construction or upgrade of approximately 770,000 kilometers of underground pipeline networks. These figures were detailed at a June 8 State Council press conference, as reported by Xinhua News Agency.
A Strategic Shift in Urban Development
China’s urbanization rate has surpassed 66%, entering a phase of stable development from rapid growth. The country’s urban development model is undergoing a fundamental transition — from large-scale incremental expansion to stock quality improvement. This shift is driven by slowing population growth, aging urban infrastructure, and growing demand for higher-quality living environments.
“Currently, urban development is shifting from large-scale incremental expansion to a stage focused on stock quality improvement,” said Yun Shuang, Dean of Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute, at the press conference. “Urban renewal is not just about repairing old spaces, but about reorganizing functions, improving quality, and cultivating new momentum within existing spaces.”
The “Four Goods” Framework
The plan organizes urban renewal around four interconnected levels: Good Houses, Good Communities, Good Neighborhoods, and Good Urban Areas. Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Qin Haixiang described the characteristics of a “good house” as “safety, comfort, greenness, and intelligence.” He stated that the government will “systematically advance the ‘Four Goods’ construction, solving key small matters around the masses, accomplishing practical matters that benefit people’s livelihoods, and continuously enhancing the people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security.”
Massive Infrastructure Investment
The financial commitment behind the plan is substantial. Guan Peng, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission’s Fixed Asset Investment Department, announced that the central budget has allocated 970 billion yuan for urban renewal in 2026, benefiting approximately 8 million households. Additionally, 160 billion yuan in ultra-long-term special government bonds has been designated for underground pipeline construction — an increase of 25 billion yuan from 2025.
Guo Fangming, Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Construction Department, confirmed that “during the ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ period, the central government will maintain a relatively large support intensity and continuously optimize policy design to improve the efficiency of fund utilization.”
Infrastructure: The City’s “Inner Workings”
A major focus of the plan is upgrading what Chinese officials call the city’s “inner workings” — the vast underground network of pipelines. The plan calls for constructing or upgrading approximately:
- 200,000 km of gas pipelines
- 175,000 km of drainage pipelines
- 175,000 km of water supply pipelines
- 100,000 km of sewage pipelines
- 120,000 km of heating pipelines
These upgrades aim to achieve three goals: filling gaps in drainage and flood control, replacing aging and hazardous pipes, and enabling smart monitoring of urban infrastructure through digital systems.
Cultural Heritage and Historical Preservation
The plan places strong emphasis on protecting cultural heritage, prohibiting large-scale demolition and construction in historical areas. Chen Shaopeng, Director of the Department of Building Energy Efficiency and Science and Technology at MOHURD, noted that China currently has 145 nationally designated historical and cultural cities, over 1,300 historical and cultural districts, and 72,000 historical buildings. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, authorities will “activate and utilize immovable cultural relics, historical buildings, industrial heritage, historical and cultural districts, and historical sites, introducing new business formats and new momentum, empowering urban development with culture.”
Land Policy Innovation
A key innovation in the plan is the introduction of a “positive list” system for land use. Xie Haixia, Director of the Territorial Space Planning Bureau at the Ministry of Natural Resources, explained that old factories and neighborhoods, in accordance with the positive list requirements, “can accommodate diversified business formats such as science and innovation, convenience commerce, etc., breaking the single land use restrictions.” A five-year transition period allows land use changes without requiring land price supplements, providing flexibility for redevelopment projects.
Pilot Cities and Implementation
Fifty key cities — including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Luoyang — have been selected as pilot cities for urban renewal programs with central government subsidies. These cities will serve as laboratories for developing replicable models of urban renewal that can be scaled nationwide. The plan also encourages social capital participation through REITs, corporate bonds, and public-private partnership models.
Case Studies: Breathing New Life into Old Spaces
Several cities have already demonstrated the transformative potential of urban renewal. In Tianjin, the former Color Weaving Factory in Xiqing District was transformed into a tourism and leisure block, attracting approximately 120,000 visitors during the May Day holiday in 2026. In Zhengzhou, the Oil and Chemical Factory — once Henan’s largest detergent production base, built in 1952 — was reborn as “Zhengzhou Memory 1952 Creative Park,” now a popular retro landmark drawing tens of thousands of daily visitors.
Beijing’s Guodian Power Plant on Jianguo Road, a thermal plant that operated from 1958 until its decommissioning in 2015, has been reimagined as a digital art park featuring cafes, fashion boutiques, and digital creative businesses. These examples, reported by People’s Daily, illustrate the diverse approaches cities are taking to activate dormant assets.
What to Watch
As China embarks on this ambitious urban renewal program, several key questions will shape its success: Can the multi-channel funding system sustain the massive investment required? Will the 50 pilot cities generate truly replicable models? And perhaps most importantly, can the balance between modernization and heritage preservation be maintained as 1,500 old districts undergo transformation?
The plan represents more than a construction program — it signals a fundamental rethinking of how Chinese cities should grow, prioritizing quality of life, sustainability, and cultural continuity over sheer expansion. As Yun Shuang noted, “a good renovation project should not just make a single spot look beautiful, but should drive quality improvement in surrounding neighborhoods, improve public services, and enhance industrial and consumer vitality.”