In recent years, Zhongshan has witnessed a growing number of car owners, which, in turn, has generated huge demand for parking spaces. And this has drawn wide attention from both the public and the government. 

It is reported that the parking fees will be charged on a gradual basis with a new charging policy being carried out in three phases. The parking areas in the downtown areas are categorized into three types: Type I Area with strict regulations on parking, Type II Area with relatively loosened controls on parking and Type III Area which moderately meets the demand for parking. By 2020, 8 parking lots with 2000 parking spaces will have been built. 

A charging policy will be carried out in three phases. 

Since most of the parking spaces are still available for free, Zhongshan is planning to introduce a new charging policy, in which charging standards such as higher fees for on-street parking, parking in the central areas and parking during rush hours will be adopted. 

The implementation plans are as follows:

In the first phase, areas around the Zhongshan Institute of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China will be the pilot zone for the charging policy.

In the second phase, this policy will be carried out in the areas around Xingzhong Avenue and the old town of Zhongshan. 

In the third phase, areas that are not included in the second phase of policy implementation will be included. Charges for on-street parking will not be adopted in the areas outside the pilot zone in the short term. 

The parking areas of the city will be divided into three types, each with their respective charging standards. 

Type I Area with strict regulations on parking:

This type of area includes the old town of Zhongshan city and the area enclosed by Shiqihe River, Lianyuan Road, Huabai Road and Zhongshan Road. 

Parking policies: Strict regulations will be imposed on governing the buses and the low-speed vehicles, such as parking control, higher fees for parking and law enforcement. 

Type II Area with relatively loosened controls on parking: 

This type of area includes the central area of the city, the area enclosed by Shiqihe River, Kanghua Road, Changjiang Road, Bo'ai Road and Changzhou Road, the urban rail transit stations, and the areas within the 500-meter radius of the express bus stops. 

Parking policies: Dramatically increase the use of public transportation, adopt policies to appropriately manage parking control, charge higher fees accordingly as well as enforce laws, and construct P+R parking lots according to the layout of transportation hubs. 

Type III Area which moderately meets the demand for parking:

This type of area refers to the areas that are not included in the two previously mentioned areas. 

Parking policies: Moderately meet the demand for parking, impose relatively lower parking fees and construct P+R parking lots according to the layout of transportation hubs. 

8 parking lots with 2000 parking spaces will be built before 2020. 

At the same time, 640 parking spaces will be added by sectioning them out on 20 streets and the existing 15,595 on-street parking spaces will be retained, according to the guidelines. 

In addition, these guidelines propose active exploration in constructing "shared parking lots" by drawing management expertise from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou and summarizing Zhongshan's own experience, and calls for concerted efforts from all parties to engage in the construction.