A comparative study on the quality of China's eco-city: Suzhou vs Kitakyushu

China is experiencing rapid urbanization, which increasingly brings pressure on the ambient environment of local cities as well as the resources and ecology of the globe. Hence the Chinese government has been taking vigorous efforts in developing eco-cities across the nation to pursue sustainable development. This study reviews the development of the eco-city framework of the national government of China, and investigates the quality of Chinese eco-cities through an international case-study comparative analysis. The two cases, Suzhou (China) and Kitakyushu (Japan) are both honored as the best practice of eco-cities in their respective countries. The comparative analysis uses 19 indicators of the Chinese national eco-city framework. Results show that Suzhou has made remarkable progress in green space creation and environmental infrastructure construction. However, huge gaps in various indicators, especially the environmental quality performances, reveal the poor levels of pollution in Chinese cities, even in the so-called eco-cities. The rural-urban disparity and the energy consumption efficiency also call for more attention. Recommendations are made for the eco-city framework including raising the environmental standards, setting up a re-examination system in order to ensure the environmental quality, incorporating indicators related to waste recycling, and designing a new set of indicators for the social aspect.