On January 8, the cumulative tunnel excavation mileage of Section 2 of the Longyan Railway Urbanization Renovation Project exceeded 1,000 meters, marking a major milestone in the project's construction. The Zhengezhuang Interchange, whose mainline bridge and several ramps officially opened to traffic on December 15 last year, is now accelerating landscaping beneath the bridge and lighting installation on the bridge deck. With full opening to traffic scheduled for the end of June this year, key milestones are being steadily achieved.

This year, Yantai's key urban construction projects will adhere to the principles of "ensuring continued construction, ensuring necessities, and ensuring balance," addressing weak links in urban development and the pressing concerns of residents. The city plans to implement 309 key urban construction projects, with an annual planned investment of 45.174 billion yuan.

Since the New Year, temperatures have continued to drop. In response to unfavorable outdoor construction conditions, the project department has flexibly adjusted work sequences, equipment, and manpower to ensure no idle time on site.

Smoother and more convenient travel is the starting point and ultimate goal of municipal road network construction. This year, Yantai will focus on supporting the road networks of transportation hubs and key districts, alleviating congestion and ensuring smooth traffic in urban areas, systematically planning the construction of municipal road networks in core urban districts, and striving to eliminate bottlenecks and interruptions in the urban road network. Within the year, the city will implement the road network layout of the Jiahe Xingfu New City "six horizontal and five vertical" roads, the Zhifu Bay Yantai Port "four horizontal and three vertical" roads, and the Yantai South Station "eight horizontal and eight vertical" roads. Seizing the opportunity of the Longyan Railway urbanization renovation, the city will improve municipal supporting facilities at four stations including Yantai Station and construct two railway-crossing passages, Zhuji West Road and Dianchang East Road, to meet the supporting needs of districts and transportation hubs. The city will continue to advance the construction of urban expressways, inter-district roads, T-junctions, dead-end roads, supporting roads, major repairs of old municipal road networks, and static transportation facilities. During the construction of the "one horizontal" Tashan North Expressway, the continuous renovation of the Guanhai Road mainline will be carried out simultaneously.

While road network construction proceeds at full speed, urban renewal is advancing at an equally brisk pace. On December 30 last year, the Investment Promotion Conference for the Jiahe Xingfu New City Headquarters Base was held. At the conference, the Main City Holding Group signed cooperation agreements with 12 enterprises, including Shangdian Zhilian and Yilei Aviation, marking the official opening of the Jiahe Xingfu New City Headquarters Base and a substantive step forward in the development of industrial clusters.

With a total floor area of approximately 63,700 square meters, the Jiahe Xingfu New City Headquarters Base integrates fully furnished offices, commercial facilities, shared lecture halls, exhibition spaces, and ample parking, providing enterprises with a modern office environment and comprehensive functional support. Three high-quality schools' Xingfu campuses are located nearby, and more than 300 high-quality talent apartments that are ready for immediate occupancy are planned for construction. An ecosystem of talent and enterprise services that can "attract, retain, and help businesses thrive" is taking shape.

This year, Yantai will focus on three types of renewal projects—old residential communities, old commercial blocks, and old industrial zones—to create demonstration models of "four-good" urban areas, comprehensively advance the integrated development and construction of key districts in the central urban area, and achieve a dramatic transformation and renewal of the city's appearance.

At the start of the new year, the layout of educational resources in the central area has taken another step. The much-anticipated Laishan New High School construction project has officially publicized its design scheme. The Laishan New High School, planned for 75 classes and a capacity of 3,750 students, is scheduled to begin construction in March this year and be completed by the end of June 2028, marking the opening of a major phase of public service project construction within the year.

According to the head of the Yantai Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, this year Yantai will focus on four areas—healthcare, education, sports, and culture and tourism—to continue improving urban service facilities. In healthcare, the city will implement the renovation and upgrading project of the old campus of the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and the construction of five hospitals including Yantai International Rehabilitation Hospital. In education, it will implement the construction of 25 schools, including Laishan New High School, the new campus of Yantai No. 4 Middle School, and the industry-education integration training base of Yantai Health Vocational College. In sports, it will implement two comprehensive sports facility projects: the upgrading and renovation of the Sports Park and the sports infrastructure project in the Penglai Demonstration Zone of the Yellow River Delta. In culture and tourism, it will implement nine cultural and tourism projects, including Kongtong Shengjing and the Tourism World Wharf. Over the next three years, the city will complete the construction of 45 comprehensive parks, including the coastal frontage, the Central Mountain Park, and the Mashanzhai World Design Park, so that "Garden Yantai" will continue to be renewed and enriched.