To comprehensively address the utilization of urban rainwater resources, the provincial finance department recently allocated 250 million yuan to support the continued advancement of Xining's sponge city pilot construction project, primarily for implementing pipeline and ditch remediation, sponge-style retrofitting within the pilot area, increasing green space area, and other projects.

The provincial finance department, together with Xining City, actively participated in the competitive review for national sponge city pilots, "drawing on external expertise and intelligence" in areas such as planning formulation and scheme drafting, actively reflecting the province's characteristics as the "China Water Tower" and "ecology first," and successfully included Xining City in the scope of the second batch of pilot cities supported by the state in 2016. Over the past three years and more, the provincial finance department has cumulatively allocated 1.5 billion yuan for sponge city construction in Xining, helping Xining smoothly implement the construction strategy of "treating mountains, managing water, and enriching the city," supporting a number of projects such as sponge-style retrofitting of urban residential communities, roads, and squares, with pilot work advancing steadily.

The allocation of this fiscal funding will help Xining actively explore the construction of a semi-arid, water-scarce "sponge city," and through the principles of "infiltration, detention, retention, purification, utilization, and drainage," improve rainwater utilization efficiency, optimize spatial structure, improve the microclimate environment, and form a "Xining Model" that can serve as a demonstration and promotion template for the western region.