Shenzhen will have a park modeled on New York's Central Park by the end of the year.

Work on the project, nicknamed "the city's guest hall," will begin in May and be completed by the end of the year. The project will include a central square, which will be a large green belt, and a complex comprising stores and parking spaces.

The project will cover 456,000 square meters and cost 250 million yuan (US$30 million).

Designers hope the vast green space south of the city government's headquarters, the Citizens' Center, will prevent the new city center from becoming too crowded with skyscrapers.

They said green space, instead of skyscrapers, could provide residents with a comfortable environment. The idea of a green open space at the city center was borrowed from the New York Central Park, planners said.

The Central Square and affiliated facilities will also serve as a transitional zone between the political and cultural center in the north and the burgeoning central business area in the south that is home to the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center.

Editor: Catherine