Published by ChinaMNC · Huiji

Zhengzhou Streamlines Urban Detailed Planning Rules for Businesses

Zhengzhou's new positive optimization list simplifies planning approvals for industrial, commercial, and public projects, offering foreign founders a faster path to site development and operations.

Zhengzhou Introduces Positive Optimization List to Speed Up Planning Approvals

Foreign founders establishing or expanding operations in Zhengzhou should take note of a new policy that simplifies urban detailed planning procedures. The Zhengzhou Urban Detailed Planning Positive Optimization List (Trial) (the List), issued by the Zhengzhou Municipal Government, aims to enhance planning adaptability and improve approval efficiency, supporting urban renewal, industrial upgrading, and public welfare projects.

Background and Purpose

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Henan Provincial Department of Natural Resources have issued documents clarifying different situations for detailed planning approval and adjustment, introducing the concept of a positive list for land-use conversion. This concept effectively simplifies detailed planning adjustment procedures. To accelerate urban renewal and the implementation of public welfare projects, Zhengzhou has developed this List as a supporting measure to the Zhengzhou Measures for Optimizing the Implementation and Management of Urban Detailed Planning (Trial).

The List specifies circumstances where positive optimization can be applied directly. For cases within the List, the detailed planning adjustment procedure is exempted. Planning and land procedures can be processed based on the “original detailed planning + positive optimization list + plot plan (or linear facility optimization drawing).” This creates a classified handling mechanism: simplified processing within the List, and standard procedures outside the List, thereby improving planning response efficiency while adhering to upper-level planning requirements.

Legal and Policy Basis

The List is based on several documents, including:

The State Council's Approval of the Implementation Plan for Comprehensive Reform Pilot on Market-based Allocation of Production Factors in Certain Regions (Guohan [2025] No. 86)
The Zhengzhou Work Plan for the Comprehensive Reform Pilot on Market-based Allocation of Production Factors (Yuzheng [2025] No. 28)
The Guidelines for Planning for Revitalization and Optimization of Urban Stock Space (TD/T 1111-2025)
The Notice on Several Policies for Supporting Urban Renewal through the Entire Chain of Planning and Land Use by the Henan Provincial Department of Natural Resources, Henan Provincial Department of Finance, and Henan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (Yuziranzi Gui [2026] No. 4)
Zhengzhou's policies on new industrial land, small and micro enterprise parks, and new industrial land management, as well as the national land space classification guide for land and sea use and related technical standards.

Scope of Application

The List applies to detailed planning and linear facility detailed planning within the urban development boundary of Zhengzhou's main urban area (five inner districts and development zones). Counties (cities), Shangjie District, and the Airport Economy Zone may refer to it for implementation.

Key Optimization Scenarios

1. Land Use Conversion

Conversion among industrial land types is permitted under the condition of compliance with industrial policies. Specifically, new industrial, small and micro enterprise park, new industry, Class I industrial, Class I logistics and warehousing, Class II industrial, and Class II logistics and warehousing land may be converted among each other. Urban residential land may be converted to community service facility land. Cultural, educational, sports, medical and health, commercial, business and financial, and entertainment land may be converted to public welfare public service uses. The classification of land uses is clarified: industrial land must align with the city's special policies for industrial and new industrial land; other land uses exclude wholesale markets, gas stations, infectious disease hospitals, and other NIMBY facilities.

2. Mixed Land Use

Mixed-use functions are allowed for urban residential, government and institutional, cultural, commercial, business and financial, entertainment, industrial, and logistics and warehousing land. For example, urban residential land may be mixed with cultural, sports, and park green space functions. The dominant use must account for more than 50% of the gross floor area, original core indicators must be strictly observed, and negative impacts must be avoided. Industrial and logistics and warehousing land support mixed use with similar logistics or industrial functions.

3. Planning Control Indicators

For industrial and logistics and warehousing land, adjustments to floor area ratio and building density are possible. For commercial, business, entertainment, and public management and public service land, building height may be adjusted by up to 10% of the original planning. For urban residential land, building height may be slightly adjusted without changing floor area ratio, building density, or green space ratio. For municipal utility land, adjustments to floor area ratio and building height are allowed. Each scenario has specific constraints related to norms, safety, sunlight, and urban design.

4. Linear Facility Control Elements

The List covers roads, pipelines, and rail transit. For roads, without changing red line width, road grade, or lane scale, local alignment optimization, channelization adjustments, and cross-section optimization are permitted. For pipelines, without altering the upstream and downstream rainwater and sewage systems or other pipeline layouts, adjustments to pipe position, diameter, slope, and elevation at local sections or nodes are allowed. For rail transit, without negative impact on surrounding land, adjustments to auxiliary facilities such as passages, entrances and exits, elevator shafts, ventilation shafts, air ducts, cooling towers, and fire water tanks at stations and sections are permitted.

Practical Implications for Foreign Founders

This policy can significantly reduce the time and complexity involved in obtaining planning approvals for certain projects. If your business involves industrial production, logistics, commercial real estate, or public service facilities, you may benefit from the simplified procedures. For instance, converting land use within industrial categories or adjusting building height for commercial projects may no longer require a full detailed planning adjustment.

However, it is crucial to ensure that your project falls within the List's scope and meets all specified conditions. The List only applies to the main urban area, though other regions may follow it. Foreign founders should consult local planning authorities or legal advisors to confirm eligibility and navigate the process.

The List was developed by the Zhengzhou Municipal Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, which started work in February 2026, solicited public opinions, conducted expert reviews, and incorporated feedback. It was approved by the 87th Executive Meeting of the Municipal Government on September 1, 2026, and issued on September 29, 2026, in the name of the Municipal People's Government.

The List includes the purpose, scope, principles, optimization scenarios and requirements, and other provisions, with five annexes (four list tables and an appendix). It also defines terms such as linear facility detailed planning, detailed planning adjustment, plot plan, and linear facility optimization drawing to unify concepts for practical operation.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.