The first eco-friendly town will be built in the Binghai New District of Tianjin. According to its develoment plan, the town will totally rely on clean energy like solar and wind energy instead of oil. All the houses here will be built with recyclable materials, and no heavy industries will be allowed to be built there.

"Eco-friendly towns can not change the world, but their seeds wiil grow into a forest in Tianjin, telling the world that the environmental crisis will come to an end if we work hard enough," said Eero Paloheimo, the Finnish scientist on eco-friendly urban planning at a seminar introducing the Finnish experience of building eco-friendly cities.

The development plan was initiated in June, 2006, and construction of the town will be completed in 10 years, when some 20,000 people will live there.