Construction in the zones, which will be created by connecting parks, rivers, lakes, highways and low building blocks, will be strictly controlled and obstacles to air flow will be removed over time, Xinhua cited Wang Fei, deputy head of Beijing's urban planning committee, as saying.

There will be five large corridors that will be more than 500 metres wide and several smaller ones, the report said, without giving a time frame for the project. For Beijing and its surroundings, the government has set a target for 2020 of reducing pollution by 40% from 2013 levels. A senior environment official said on Friday the city's air quality has improved over the last two years.