The arched moon gate is a remarkable feature of the Changfeng Street Station of Taiyuan Subway Line 2.KOU NING / FOR CHINA DAILY
Model workers in Taiyuan take a ride on the subway on Dec 21.SHI XIAOBO / FOR CHINA DAILY
The long-awaited subway line in Taiyuan will be put into service on Saturday, Taiyuan Rail Transit Corp announced recently.
Trial operation of the first subway line in the provincial capital of Shanxi began on Monday, with 1,000 local passengers experiencing their maiden rides.
Cui Zhe, a resident from Shanxi Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone, was among the lucky candidates for the trial ride after he made a reservation several days before.
"It takes about 46 minutes to cover the whole trip connecting the south and north of Taiyuan," Cui said. "This must be the fastest transportation means in the city."
The current line-the first phase of Taiyuan Subway Line 2-has 23 stations. Construction on the project began in 2016.
During the trip, Cui said he was most impressed with the interior design of each station.
Also riding the subway was Li Zhiyang, an senior architect from Beijing Construction Engineering Architecture Design Institute and the chief designer of the Taiyuan Subway Line 2 stations.
He told passengers that the stations' design has incorporated the cultural and natural elements of Taiyuan and Shanxi province.
"We drew inspiration from Taiyuan's ancient buildings and modern landmarks when designing the stations," Li said.
The Jinyang Street Station, for instance, features pictures of ancient buildings.
The lower parts of the walls are decorated with well-arranged wooden boards resembling the silhouette of old houses and streets, Li said, adding that the red lanterns hanging in the station hall also render a sense of urban life in ancient Taiyuan.
Changfeng Street Station has adopted a modern, fashionable design to echo the area's characteristics as the central business district of Taiyuan.
The station hall features a huge arched moon gate, which Li said signifies "consummation" in Chinese culture.
"The moon gate is decorated with LED lights, which can generate different lighting effects for specific occasions, for instance, Spring Festival, Christmas and Valentine's Day," Li said.
Among the 23 stations, there are four "naked stations" as Li calls them. There are no decorations and exposed concrete walls and pipes can be seen.
"The design style is not only meant to save resources and facilitate maintenance, but also meant to meet the aesthetics of modern people," Li said.
The designer explained that such a design aims to reflect a post-modernist style.
With Taiyuan residents pinning high hopes on the subway line improving their lives, the city's administrators expect the project to bring new development opportunities.
"The subway project can create new space for urbanization, as more remote areas can be included in Taiyuan's urban planning and new urban centers will be formed," said Wang Fenglian, chief planner at Taiyuan Rail Transit Corp.
Guo Yanjie contributed to this story.
By YUAN SHENGGAO
山西路橋:黨建引領 建好“四好農村路”山西路橋建設集團黨委扎實開展“黨建質量提升年”,實施“六大工程”,立足“十四五”高質量、高速度、高效益發展的戰略基點,全面提高黨建質量和黨建引領發展水平,為打造“國內一流的交通基礎設施投資、建設、施工現代化企業集團”提供堅強政治保障。
常住人口3491萬 山西人口普查數據"出爐"山西省統計局向社會通報山西省第七次全國人口普查主要數據。數據顯示,山西省常住人口為34915616人,比2010年(第六次全國人口普查數據,下同)減少2.23%,年平均減少0.23%。山西省常住人口總量減少,主要受人口流動變化等因素影響。