High rises line the south bank of Swan Lake Park, which lies to the north of the new park. [Photo by Zhu Lixin / China Daily]

World-renowned Central Park, a 340-hectare swath of green surrounded by apartment buildings, hotels and museums, is dubbed New York's "backyard."

Now Hefei, the provincial capital of Anhui province, in an effort to become a regional mega-city and with an urban population expected to surpass five million by 2030, is planning to open its own "Central Park" – now quietly under construction – by the end of the year. Set in the western part of the city, it's sure to attract city residents thirsty for a green retreat to exercise or relax.

The mammoth green belt, dubbed Hefei's first green-belt park, is situated in the core of the city's Political and Cultural District. It covers 200,000 square meters, or 22 hectares, and boasts with trees and shrubs covering 90 percent of the park. The green belt runs from north to south along an unseen axis.

The park borders beautiful Swan Lake and the municipal government building complex to the north and the Hefei Olympic Sports Center to the south, linking the famed China Resources Center, the Swan Lake Scenic Spot, Hefei Grand Theatre and the new Mixc City along its axis.

Once completed, the park, a much-smaller version of New York's Central Park, will reveal a dreamland of green space, water, trees and walkways for leisure and exercise. It will be dotted with crape myrtle, cherry, cedar and camphor trees amid green grass and shrubs.

The main goal is to allow visitors to enjoy green space, said Li Dong from the Hefei Municipal Information Office, who added that the park is one way to make the Political and Cultural District more attractive and livable with a completely new face.