With the release of the government work report during the major annual political sessions, some top words instantly drew broad attentions from the public. For example, how to ensure " housing is for people to live in " and how to support "the development of small-medium cities and characteristic towns".

He Jian, deputy to China's National People's Congress and chief of Sichuan Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Department said in an interview with NBD that housing is for people to live in, yet the investment nature of housing can't be avoided.

He advised to set up a long-term and fundamental housing system and establish specialized housing banks and guarantee institutions to meet the housing demand of "new citizens".

When asked about the development of characteristic small towns, He said that Sichuan has earlier initiated "construction program of a hundred towns". This program, in fact, helps to build towns of Sichuan characteristics. It explores a typical road in developing central and western China.

In He's eyes, characteristic towns of "Sichuan mode" means developing the cultural and ecological elements in small towns. The plan should be tailored to different towns and over-industrialization should be prevented. People visiting those towns should be able to enjoy natural landscape and cherish the memory of their hometowns.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn