Xiongan： Future City Starts Now

Xu Fuzhen

Baiyangdian Lake， dubbed the largest wetland in northern China， is located in Anxin County， Hebei Province， just an hour and a half drive from Beijing. Over generations， local residents subsisted on fishing and reed weaving on this fertile land. On weekends and during holidays， urbanites from nearby Beijing often flock there to relax by experiencing traditional， easygoing lifestyles.

A year ago， a master plan released by the Chinese government angled a spotlight on the otherwise tranquil place. On April 1， 2017， the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） and the State Council of China issued a circular announcing the plan to set up the Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province， which spans the provinces Xiongxian， Rongcheng and Anxin counties. According to the circular， the New Area will cover around 100 square kilometers initially and will expand to 200 square kilometers in the medium-term and again to 2，000 square kilometers in the long-term. The move is expected to help phase out the non-capital functions of Beijing， explore a new model of optimized development in densely-populated areas， restructure the urban layout in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region， and foster new， innovation-driven engines for development. As another national new area following the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area， the establishment of the Xiongan New Area will have great significance.

On April 20， 2018， the Outline of the Plan for the Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province was approved， heralding groundbreaking on construction.

A Careful Plan of Profound Significance

As the capital of China， Beijing is not only the countrys political center， but also its economic and cultural hub. The urban areas of Beijing are as prosperous as any other international metropolis， but in sharp contrast with bustling downtown， dilapidated villages can be found less than 100 kilometers from the city proper. The economic gap between downtown Beijing and neighboring rural areas， as well as overpopulation and traffic congestion caused by the capitals rising sprawl， is undoubtedly hindering the long-term development of the nation.

The Chinese government recognized the problem and began to seek solutions. In February 2014， Chinese President Xi Jinping， also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee， held a symposium in Beijing， at which he announced an important strategy for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region， noting that proper construction and management of the capital is a crucial factor in modernization of the state governance system and governance capacity and that the capitals core functions should be preserved and strengthened and some non-capital functions adjusted and weakened as they are transferred to Hebei and Tianjin. Afterwards， Xi called for construction of a new city in an appropriate location in Hebei to accept Beijings non-capital functions. His speeches provided strategic guidance for the establishment of Xiongan New Area.

Under Xis guidance， the Leading Group for the Coordinated Development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region organized research on issues related to the planned new city. In February 2015， selection of the location began， which was finally determined after careful discussions of involved departments. The Xiongan New Area rests 105 kilometers from Beijing and Tianjin and 155 kilometers and 30 kilometers from Shijiazhuang and Baoding， respectively. In addition to a favorable geographical location， it also enjoys convenient transportation， stable geological conditions and a sound ecological environment with strong carrying capacity. At present， the areas development remains at a comparatively low level， but with a high starting point， it provides huge space for high-standard development， which makes Xiongan the optimal choice for accommodating the non-capital functions of Beijing. On March 24， 2016， Xi Jinping presided over a conference of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee， at which participants reached consensus on the place to receive the non-capital functions of Beijing and named it “Xiongan New Area.”

Understandably， construction of the Xiongan New Area has grabbed global attention. Forbes published an op-ed titled “5 New Cities That Are Set to Shake Up the Future” on its website， which stated that new cities are being built across Asia and Africa as emerging markets reach the global stage and challenge existing paradigms of how the world works and ranked Chinas Xiongan New Area one of five new cities that are shaping the future. The author noted that Xiongan forms a near perfect equilateral triangle with Beijing and Tianjin and will become a true new city through development across all aspects of a well-balanced urban environment， stating that the New Area is meant to become a new hub for Chinas trademark economic “experimentation.”

Future City

The Outline of the Plan for the Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province is a well-designed master plan.

The Outline， comprised of 10 chapters with more than 20，000 words， is a holistic plan for building the Xiongan New Area in terms of spatial planning， industrial development， cultural traits， social governance， innovation logic and smart city functionality. Some have commented that the Outline evidences new tendencies of Chinas new round of reform and opening up， innovation-driven development， industrial restructuring， and urbanization and provides important roadmaps for future urban development in the country.

Xiongan is expected to become a new city with distinctive Chinese characteristics. According to the Outline， construction of the Xiongan New Area will adhere to the principle of combining Chinese and Western styles， with Chinese elements as the mainstay， while integrating tradition and modernity to spread excellent traditional Chinese culture， preserve the cultural genes of the nation and create a cityscape featuring Chinese characteristics， lake views and innovative styles. The number of high-rises with glass facades will be limited to avoid a concrete forest. According to functional zoning and industrial characteristics， skyscrapers will be confined to designated areas such as the central business district， financial zones and headquarters of enterprises. Urban buildings in the Xiongan New Area will compose an extended， rolling skyline.

When completed， “blue” and “green” spaces will occupy 70 percent of Xiongan New Area. “Blue” space mainly refers to Baiyangdian Lake， nicknamed a “pearl in northern China，” and “green” space refers to large-scale vegetation. According to the plan， infrastructure and living facilities will make up more than 30 percent of Xiongans total land area. Xiongan is meant to become a livable “dream city” where man and nature coexist in harmony. It will take five minutes for children to walk from home to kindergartens， 10 minutes to primary school and 15 minutes to middle school. Residents will find all necessary living facilities within a range of a 15-minute walk and will need only less than five minutes to reach the nearest convenient stores， health centers， community gyms and kindergartens. According to the Outline， construction of the Xiongan New Area will be people-oriented， with priorities on safeguarding and improving peoples livelihood， providing high-quality， shared public service facilities， enhancing quality of public services and increasing the carrying capacity， cohesive force and attractiveness of the New Area to make it a modern city suited for living and doing business—featuring sustainable development.

While building a brick-and-mortar new city， Xiongan is also striving to become a world-leading digital city. In March 2018， China Mobile， the countrys largest mobile phone operator， completed the first 5G-V2X automated driving test in the Xiongan New Area， achieving remote control of a vehicle 20 kilometers away to automatically start the engine， accelerate， decelerate， and steer with its 5G network. This marked a successful attempt of Xiongan in integrated development of informatization and smart city. The Outline also stated that Xiongan will take a lead role in shaping the layout for research and tests of technologies such as blockchain， terahertz， cognitive computing and IPv6 and clarified that the New Area will place priority on the development of industries including new-generation information technology， modern life sciences and biological technologies， new materials， high-end modern services， and green eco-agriculture. Unlike other new areas， Xiongan will focus on accommodating public institutions， corporate headquarters， financial institutions， colleges and research institutions relocated from Beijing， while shutting down those that fail to meet relevant requirements.

“Construction of the Xiongan New Area aims to build a replicable model for urbanization in a place far from the countrys coasts and borders in the new era， and blaze a new trail to innovation-driven development，” remarks Wu Hequan， an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and vice head of the Expert Advisory Committee of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development. Although its initial mission is to accommodate Beijings non-capital functions， the New Area isnt meant to serve as a “storage unit” to hold what Beijing doesnt want， he said. On the contrary， Xiongan is designed to host high-end， technologically advanced industries， especially those with huge room for development that are urgently needed for industrial restructuring. This is the key to the New Areas high-quality future development.