On September 30, two major projects of the Baotou Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Group were put into operation — the Outer Ring Road Donghe Bridge was completed and opened to traffic, and the "Unified Flight Network" platform began pilot operation. One hard infrastructure project and one soft digital platform: one tackled the long-standing challenge of revitalizing stalled construction projects, while the other directly addressed the chronic inefficiency in urban governance. The city's builders tackled development obstacles through solid action and concrete results, injecting fresh momentum into Baotou's urban renewal and livelihood improvement efforts.
Outer Ring Road Donghe Bridge Opens to Traffic, Northern Donghe Road Network Gains New "Main Artery"
On that day, traffic flowed in an orderly manner past the Donghe Bridge on the Outer Ring Road (Longquan Avenue) in the Beiliang cleared area of Donghe District, with the brand-new bridge deck smooth and expansive, and streetlights neatly arranged on both sides. As one of the city's 16 government-invested stalled projects brought back to life, this major urban artery that had sat dormant for years was fully completed and opened to traffic after a hundred-day intensive push. It not only cleared a key bottleneck in the northern Donghe District road network but also delivered a practical holiday gift of convenience to surrounding residents.
The Beiliang cleared area's Outer Ring Road runs west from Xinaobao Avenue to Dongmenwai Avenue in the east, with a total length of 6.3 kilometers, making it one of the main east-west arteries in northern Donghe District. The project was launched as early as 2016, and by 2020 the main roadway and bridge structure had been completed. However, due to funding and land acquisition issues, it fell into stagnation, with only the bridge deck ancillary works and side auxiliary roads left unfinished. The situation of "the bridge is built but the road can't be used" became a years-long frustration for nearby residents.
The public's expectations became the direction of the push. Focusing on the proposals and suggestions from people's congress representatives regarding the opening of the Outer Ring Road Donghe Bridge and road lighting, and implementing the citywide deployment for revitalizing stalled projects, the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Group stepped forward to take on the challenge, listing the project on its annual key livelihood攻坚 list and pushing forward with full effort around "resuming work, raising funds, and ensuring traffic opening." In mid-May 2026, the project officially resumed construction.
"From the day work resumed, we worked backward from the deadline, mapped out our battle plan, and raced to make up for lost time," said Wang Weigang, General Manager of the Affordable Housing Development and Construction Investment Co., Ltd. under the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Group. He explained that since resuming work, the team tackled the remaining bridge deck works on one hand and the side auxiliary roads on the other, while simultaneously advancing streetlight installation and traffic facility support. With the coordinated support of the municipal government, Donghe District government, and relevant departments, bottlenecks were cleared one by one and difficulties resolved item by item. The finishing tasks originally planned to take over four months were ultimately completed nearly a month ahead of schedule. As of now, all streetlights, traffic markings, signal lights, and monitoring equipment along the entire route have been installed and calibrated. More than 210 streetlights form a continuous band of light connecting the bridge and road, injecting nighttime vitality into the bridge, reshaping the riverside nightscape, and bringing the project to full traffic-opening readiness.
The bridge deck finishing works were the toughest "hard nut to crack" in the entire project. Lan Hailong, Project Manager of China MCC Baotou Beiliang Road project, told reporters that after years of suspension, the first priority upon restarting was a comprehensive disease inspection and treatment of the bridge structure. The original stone railings were also adjusted to steel anti-collision barriers after extensive deliberation between the client and design units, due to issues such as low winter temperatures in the north and insufficient adhesive durability. This not only improved safety performance but also better suited the local climate.
The bridge deck, 180 meters long and 37 meters wide, required completing all ancillary works — railing installation, waterproofing, paving, and lighting — within just over twenty days, a daunting challenge by any measure. To accelerate the schedule, the project team maximized every hour: five specialized teams for lighting, steel structure railing installation, stone paving, bridge deck waterproofing, and road surface paving entered the site simultaneously, working in parallel around the clock. During the day, paving and welding were done; at night, during windows when other processes were halted, waterproofing and grinding were carried out, with all processes seamlessly connected.
The bridge deck stands 23 meters above ground, and removing the old stone railing posts involved working entirely at height, posing extremely high safety risks. "We insisted on installing one meter of protection for every meter demolished, equipping all personnel with lifelines and five-point safety harnesses, ensuring safety protection at every work point," Lan Hailong said. Throughout the construction period, quality and safety were always treated as bottom lines, with every process checkpoint strictly enforced even while racing the schedule. On August 31, all bridge deck works and the lighting system were successfully completed, meeting traffic-opening conditions and setting a "speed record" for revitalizing stalled projects.
Whether the road is open and easy to travel — nearby residents are the best judges. "I've lived here for about sixty years. It used to be just a dirt road, full of potholes. At my age, I couldn't even walk on it — I had to take a long detour just to go for a stroll," said Li Baozhong, a resident living nearby, standing by the bridge and watching the passing vehicles with a face full of smiles. In his memory, the area around the river channel was once cluttered and the roads difficult to navigate. Now, not only is the bridge open and the road smooth, but the landscaping along the route has also been upgraded. "You can get anywhere from here now — life keeps getting brighter."
Younger resident Fu Yang feels the convenience of the opening even more deeply. "The road used to be cut off here. Going to work or picking up the kids meant taking a big detour, and it was terribly congested during rush hour," he said. Now that the bridge is open and the streetlights are on, his commute saves more than ten minutes, and grocery shopping and school pickups are much more convenient. "This is truly a great thing done for the people, right to their hearts."
From a "dead-end road" to a "thoroughfare," from a stalled project to a livelihood landmark, the opening of the Outer Ring Road Donghe Bridge is a vivid microcosm of the city revitalizing government stock assets and shoring up shortcomings in livelihood infrastructure. It not only improved the road network structure in northern Donghe District and enhanced regional traffic efficiency, but also confirmed the firm determination of the municipal Party committee and government to revitalize stalled projects and improve public welfare. With National Day approaching, this brand-new urban artery is carrying the travel expectations of citizens, laying the responsibility of state-owned enterprises and the warmth of livelihood into every stretch of residents' daily commutes.
"Unified Flight Network" Pilot Launches, Saying No to Fragmented "Go-It-Alone" Flights
Inside the Yiji Shugou office building, an operator clicks a mouse and issues a "takeoff" command. Kilometers away, a drone lifts off instantly from its nest in the Baotou Equipment Park, flies along a planned route and performs its tasks. After completing its mission and returning to the nest, the data and imagery collected by the drone are stored in real time. After being parsed and organized by an AI large model, they are available for review by various government departments.
On September 30, Baotou's "Unified Flight Network" platform was completed and put into pilot operation in Qingshan District and Jiuyuan District. The city took a major step forward on the innovative path of developing the low-altitude economy, ending departments' fragmented "go-it-alone" flights, and cracking the long-standing challenges of urban governance.
Previously, urban drone governance suffered from problems such as scattered departmental operations and fragmented data, compounded by shortcomings including low manual inspection efficiency, high risks in hazardous scenarios, and insufficient intelligence levels, limiting governance effectiveness. Li Xiaojie, General Manager of Yuntu Company under the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Group, explained: "The 'Unified Flight Network' platform enables data collected in a single flight to be used multiple times and by multiple departments. Government agencies with needs no longer have to purchase drones separately, saving on operation and maintenance costs and personnel expenses while improving work efficiency."
In July 2025, the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Group began preparing for the platform's construction, successively cooperating with leading low-altitude industry enterprises such as the Ninth Academy of China Aerospace, China Science Star Map, and China Mobile. After drawing on their respective strengths, the city launched the construction of its "Unified Flight Network" platform. The platform integrates the city's drone hardware, management and scheduling software, and flight and image algorithms, providing standardized low-altitude services such as aerial photography collection and intelligent inspection. It builds an intelligent algorithm matrix covering urban governance, public safety, ecological environmental protection, and emergency patrols, with core capabilities including urban waste identification, illegal roadside business identification, illegal building identification, and forest and grassland fire monitoring, providing precise and efficient technical support for refined and intelligent urban governance, ecological environmental protection, and emergency response.
The project follows a strategy of piloting first and expanding from point to area. Qingshan District and Jiuyuan District were chosen as the first pilot areas, with resources prioritized for hardware nests, scheduling systems, and scenario application deployment. Scenario operations were launched, initially achieving cross-departmental task coordination and data sharing. While improving inspection and handling efficiency, it also effectively alleviated problems such as multi-source scheduling and duplicate procurement.
At a drone nest in front of the Qingshan District Party and Government Building, reporters saw a white device taller than a person, combining a landing pad and an operation display screen, full of technological appeal. "The city's existing seven drone nests are linked with the 'Unified Flight Network' platform. After drones take off from here, the data they collect is transmitted to the platform in real time," said Ren Jiawei, Section Chief of the Operations Division. The platform currently offers 50+ categories of AI recognition algorithms, covering 15 industries including natural resources, urban governance, emergency rescue, public security, and water conservancy and environmental protection. The algorithm library can be expanded to cover more than 300细分 scenario algorithms based on the actual needs of various units during operation.
It is reported that by next year, after the automated drone nest equipment completes large-scale networking, it will enable常态化 automated inspections across core urban areas such as Kundulun District, Jiuyuan District, and Qingshan District, building a low-altitude perception network of "Unified Flight Network." Later, it can be extended to cover all banner and county areas, forming a citywide unified low-altitude flight network for Baotou.
Livelihood Projects Delivered on the Ground, Outlining a New Vision for Baotou's High-Quality Development
The Outer Ring Road Donghe Bridge project represents traditional infrastructure — roads, bridges, streetlights, and traffic markings — addressing the physical space issues of whether ground traffic is open, smooth, and well-lit, and shoring up Baotou's "hardware shortcomings." The project directly benefits residents in northern Donghe District — saving more than ten minutes on commutes, eliminating detours, and providing bright streetlights at night. It is the "happiness close at hand" that ordinary people can touch and walk on.
The "Unified Flight Network" represents new infrastructure — drone nests, AI large models, low-altitude perception networks, and cross-departmental data sharing — addressing the digital space issues of urban governance being unable to see comprehensively, respond quickly, or operate efficiently, and building Baotou's "soft power." It indirectly benefits all residents of the city — more accurate identification of illegal buildings, faster forest and grassland fire response, and more timely emergency responses. Although this "network" may seem abstract, the improvement in governance efficiency will ultimately translate into a safer and cleaner urban environment.
While tackling historical hard problems on one hand and laying out future new tracks on the other, Baotou is using one solid livelihood project after another to make the "warmth of livelihood" burn even brighter.