Cheng Zhiyi, director of Chongqing's construction committee, recently detailed proposals enacted by the municipal party committee and government.

He said Chongqing will integrate traffic and urban operations and management, construct its northeast and southeast town groups and build small towns with local characteristics during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2010) period.

He added that the city will complete eight expressways with a total distance of 141 kilometers by the end of 2020 to promote the interconnectivity of the whole city.

To promote environmental protection, Chongqing will also further its efforts to lay out the northeast and southeast ecology towns more properly along the Yangtze and Wujiang rivers, raising their forest coverage rates respectively to 50% and 52%.

It will also build thirty small towns with local characteristics including some in the northeast ecology zone.

Those small towns with featured resources, industries and culture will be able to connect cities with villages and boost the region's urbanization process.

By Qiu Guizhen and edited by Peter Nordinger