Dushan University City is located in the southern part of Dushan County’s urban core, with a total planned area of approximately 10 square kilometers. It serves as the primary platform for implementing Dushan’s strategy of strengthening the county through science and education. By developing six to ten universities and affiliated campuses, the project aims to establish a modern town integrating higher education, research and innovation, tourism services, and industrial transformation.

Guided by the principles of “ecology first” and “holistic planning,” the master plan is structured around a mountain park as its green core, complemented by branching landscape greenways that extend outward to form a continuous and integrated ecological framework. In terms of functional organization, the plan adopts a “three-zone symbiosis” structure comprising a university education district, a northern central business district, and a western modern creative industry park, enabling close integration of education, research, industry, commerce, and residential living.

Spatially, a rational branching framework is combined with flexible natural infiltration, using road corridors and open spaces to create continuous ventilation paths that enhance the local microclimate. Architectural design emphasizes passive energy-saving strategies, with careful consideration of solar orientation, shading, and natural ventilation to reduce overall energy consumption. A centrally located “shared educational greenway” enables efficient sharing of facilities among institutions, avoiding redundancy and maximizing resource utilization. This greenway also functions as a citywide pedestrian-only network, linking public centers and residential areas while providing a safe, human-scaled, and pleasant walking environment.

The design further draws upon local historical and cultural foundations, allowing spatial forms to respond sensitively to topography and contributing to a renewed urban identity. By leveraging the intellectual resources of higher education, the project stimulates the growth of creative industries and logistics, injecting sustained knowledge-driven momentum into the region’s long-term development.