The summer sun had barely risen over the Beijing skyline when delegates began to gather within the massive walls of the Great Hall of the People. The Central City Conference, the first in a decade, was to be held over the next two days. But even before the sessions began, a subtle anxiety was creeping through the capital: this time, something really big was going to happen. China, which had long set the pace of urbanization in the world, was preparing for a turning point. Expectations were not disappointed: Chairman Xi Jinping opened the meeting with words that would become iconic in the future. “Our urbanization will no longer be a quantitative race. It must be focused on quality, sustainability, and harmony with nature.” Thus began a turn in urbanization strategy that has gone down in the country’s history as one of the most ambitious urban development policies of the 21st century. For decades, China had been growing rapidly. Millions of square meters of housing, hundreds of new cities, infrastructure giants such as bridges across the Pearl River Delta, airports and high-speed railways. The entire country has become a living laboratory of urban experiments. But this growth has also had its downside: empty cities, unsustainable development, worn-out infrastructure, worsening social differences and a growing threat of natural disasters. The conference decided that the priority from now on is not in building something new, but in rethinking the old. The main task is declared to be the renewal of old neighborhoods - the so-called "urban villages" and microdistricts of the Soviet era. Instead of demolition - reconstruction, instead of mass eviction - integration with the existing urban fabric. The head of the National Development and Reform Commission, speaking to the audience, cited the example of Guangzhou. There, in 2023, they began modernizing five urban villages, including the ancient Xiangcun district. The new program has shown that careful reconstruction can preserve cultural identity, improve living conditions and give a district a second wind. But the point that attracted the most attention was the one concerning supertall buildings. China is the leader in the number of skyscrapers, and in recent years this has become a symbol of urban rivalry: each metropolis tried to build a taller and brighter tower. Now this will be strictly limited. According to the authorities, such projects are often unsafe, economically unjustified and worsen the urban environment. “Stop chasing heights. It's time to think about the ground we walk on,” the Minister of Housing concluded. A huge emphasis was placed on adaptation to climate change. In 2024, the Zhengzhou flood became a tragic reminder of the weakness of the infrastructure. Now all major cities must introduce elements of “sponge cities” - green areas, permeable surfaces, rainwater reservoirs. Engineers and ecologists are working together to combine nature and urban technology. Behind the scenes, the participants talked not only about projects, but also about culture. It was decided to strengthen the protection of historical buildings, restore old streets and traditional courtyards. New cultural centers, museums and public spaces will appear in the cities, where modern technologies coexist with historical memory. The conference's decisions were met with mixed reactions. Developers are worried - the cessation of large-scale construction sites could hit their profits. But most city residents perceived the changes with hope. "Maybe we will finally have a city in which you want to live, and not just work," said Liu Ming, a resident of Suzhou. Two days later, the conference ended.