nhk world's daisuke azuma traveled to a city in inland china to get the view from there. >> reporter: a massive construction project is under way in the capital of gansu province, lanzhou. workers are building a new city near the airport. >> reporter: the new industrial and residential zones were planned in 2010. they will cost $200 billion. their purpose is to boost the economy. economic growth still reflects well upon local leaders. >> translator: we must first develop this area. development is our top priority. we can address other issues later. >> translator: but a change is in the air. president xi jinping is putting new limits on such huge public works. his policy now promotes conservation. his government said it will reward those who protect the environment while achieving growth. this concern for the environment has brought some major construction projects to a halt. this building site in central lanzhou is known as china's largest ever development of a mountainous region. the plan calls for the demolition of 700 mountains. but insiders tell us the project will be suspended by

daisuke azuma, nhk world. >>> populous. prosperous. pushing ahead. china's rise brought it wealth, power, and problems. an income gap divides its people. pollution threatens their health. and differences over territory strain relations with its neighbors. find out the challenges china faces on "newsline." >>> workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant are busy 0 checking the safety of one of the damaged reactor buildings. they had earlier tried to remove wreckage from the site but dropped it into a pool holding more than 500 nuclear fuel rods. officials with tokyo electric power company say the incident took place shortly after noon on friday at the number 3 reactor building. the workers were using a remotely operated crane to lift a control console when it slipped. the device weighs 400 kilograms. the officials say they've detected no change in radiation levels near the pool or the plant's monitoring post. they also say no one was injured. the number 3 reactor building was badly damaged by the hydrogen explosion that destroyed the plant in 2011.