The State Council on Jan 19 approved an overall development plan through 2020 for the city of Hangzhou in East China’s Zhejiang province.

According to the plan, the Hangzhou government will coordinate administration over the designated city area of 3,334 square kilometers, both urban and rural, and will expand to include the newly established Fuyang area.

Hangzhou will further cooperate with surrounding cities such as Shanghai and Ningbo to maximize its leading role for the development of Zhejiang province and the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta.

The city plans to control the size of its downtown population to 4 million and the urban construction area to 430 square kilometers by 2020.

In addition, Hangzhou will improve its urban infrastructure and take measures to protect its historical and scenic sites.