Beijing to build 20 tree-shaded parking lots

Chinanews, Beijing, July 23 - According to a report by Beijing Evening News, Beijing will build 20 large tree-shaded parking lots this year. Currently, trees have been planted around 11 parking lots in Dongcheng, Xicheng, Haidian and Fengtai districts. Before 2010, all the 567 parking lots within the 4th Ring Road will be shaded by trees that will keep summer heat off the parked cars.
The parking lots within the 4th Ring Road cover some 235.33 hectares of land, but there are no trees planted around them yet.
"Our test shows that the temperature in a silver car under tree shade at 2:00 PM in a summer day is about 27 degrees centigrade, while the temperature in a similar car directly illuminated by sunlight is 57 degrees centigrade. The temperature in a black car under tree shade is 25 degrees centigrade, but under the sun, the temperature in it can be as high as 70 degrees centigrade," said a clerk from the Beijing Municipal Afforestation Administration.
Currently, the afforestation of 20 parking lots, including the one for the members of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games, and the one near the Temple of Earth, has been completed. The Afforestation Administration has selected huge trees, which will provide shade big enough to cover the parking lots.