Aerial photo taken on April 1, 2021 shows the Xiongan Railway Station of the Beijing-Xiongan intercity railway in Xiongan New Area, north China's Hebei province. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By WANG Xiaoxia

"We will build the Xiongan New Area to a high standard," said President Xi Jinping in the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on October 16.

After five years of the launch of the new area in north China's Hebei province, the blueprint is becoming reality. Breakthroughs have been made in undertaking Beijing's non-capital functions, featuring continuously improved urban functions and ecological governance.

New model

On April 1, 2017, China announced setting up Xiongan New Area, about 100 kilometers south of Beijing. The new area spans Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei province, and covers a population of between two and 2.5 million.

Xiongan sits at the center of a triangular area with Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei's capital Shijiazhuang at the apexes, and people in Xiongan can reach any of the three cities in about 30 minutes with good road and rail access.

The start-up area is virtually the main area of Xiongan, where changes take place every day. The "four major systems" of urban construction have basically taken shape, namely peripheral roads, internal road networks, ecological corridors, and urban water systems around the city.

Planners for the Xiongan New Area have proposed the idea of building a "digital twin city." That is, the real and virtual cities will be constructed simultaneously and mutually promoted.

Xiongan Urban Computing (Supercomputing Cloud) Center has begun operation, as an important carrier of the digital twin city and smart service system. The large state-owned enterprises, such as Sinochem and Huaneng Group, have set up more than 120 branches in the new area to invigorate local industries.

Meanwhile, construction of functional areas such as science parks, Internet industrial parks, university parks, innovation workshops, headquarters areas, and financial islands has accelerated.

Public services

Recently, Xiongan New Area successively issued a three-year action plan concerning people's livelihood such as education, medical care, pension and employment.

Xiongan Innovation Research Institute, jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the People's Government of Hebei province, aims to also build a world-class scientific research platform. At present, the main body of the platform's office building has been completed.

Currently, more than 6,000 skilled people have been issued talent cards, including more than 1,500 specialists in fields of education, medical care, science and technology.

In the start-up area, more than 60 schools are planned and constructed from kindergarten to high school, including subsidiaries of the renowned Beihai Kindergarten, Shijia Hutong Primary School and Beijing No. 4 Middle School.

To create a favorable business environment, Xiongan New Area greenlighted enterprise registration by setting up an online application system and one-day settlement procedure. Digital ID and electronic seals were also introduced to improve public service efficiency.

Communities have also set up employment service centers, which regularly carried out skill trainings of 174,000 personal times and provided 150,000 jobs for local residents.

Ecological governance

Xiongan New Area is home to Baiyangdian, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in north China, highlighting the fact that eco-protection has been a priority during construction.

More than 140 ponds and lakes are scattered in Baiyangdian, which are important habitats for migratory birds. Nine key habitats were designated for birds, and hunting is banned throughout the area. Currently, 248 species of wild rare birds are found and are under protection in Baiyangdian, an increase of 42 species compared to before the establishment of the new area.

There are more than 2,000 volunteers devoted to bird protection, and a large number of the rare birds were found by them, said Tian Yongchang, deputy director of the Anxin County Natural Resources Bureau.

Over the past five years, a total of 469,000 mu (about 31,267 hectares) of forest has been planted in the new area, and the forest coverage rate has increased from 11 percent to 34 percent. With leisure facilities installed, the forests naturally merge with urban life.

Xiongan Country Park, with more than 1,000 hectares of forest, can create 10,000 tons of carbon sinks every year. Staff workers can monitor water quality and soil data through mobile phones, as well as control irrigation systems.

"The harmonious coexistence between humans and nature has become a reality [here]," said Tian.