04 Nov 2025
On 21 October 2025, XJTLU Design School invited Mr Maolin Wang, Senior Consultant of DP Group, for a guest lecture titled “Localising Singapore’s Ideas in China - Taking Industrial Park Planning and Development as an Example”.
The lecture aimed to provide important insights for the students' academic research and future career development, help cultivate an international mindset and strategic vision, and provide insight into the complex process of localising international experience, deepening the understanding of the profound meaning of "adapting to local conditions".
DP Group is an international professional services conglomerate of companies, comprising of around 100 accomplished professionals globally, such as lawyers, financial advisors, certified accountants, accountants, marketing analysts, administrative specialists et al.
Mr Wang systematically explained?the unique aspects of Singapore’s urban planning: A sophisticated system with visionary, sustainable and resilient features. He emphasised that the key to Singapore's success lies in its "dual-pronged" planning framework?- guided by a 40-50 year Concept Plan and anchored by a 10-15 year statutory Master Plan, while innovatively introducing flexible policies like "White Sites" for mixed-use development. This approach ensures developmental order while effectively adapting to future uncertainties.
Mr Wang highlighted the core of the Singapore model as the deep integration of economic development with green sustainability. By steadfastly maintaining its manufacturing sector share, rigorously implementing TOD, and continually advancing ecological projects like the ABC Waters Programme and LUSH Plan, Singapore has evolved from a "Garden City" to a "City in Nature", making economic growth and environmental protection go hand in hand.
Through detailed analysis of five landmark cases, including Suzhou Industrial Park, Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, and Sino-Singapore (Chengdu) Innovation Park, Mr Wang vividly demonstrated how this systematic experience has been creatively localized across different regional and economic contexts in China. He noted that successful practice is not mere replication, but rather the integration of Singapore's underlying planning logic - its systematic thinking, flexible mechanisms, and green concept - with China's planning systems, market dynamics, and local characteristics.
Mr Wang Maolin hoped that the students could integrate the knowledge and, in the future, when facing real urban planning challenges, they would not only have an international perspective but also be rooted in China, proposing solutions that are both innovative and feasible.
Story provided by Urban and Environmental Studies University Research Centre
Edited by Yi Qian
04 Nov 2025