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Vanessa Cai

China’s futuristic megacity of Xiongan – a signature project of President Xi Jinping – has taken yet another step towards completion with a reinforced urban management structure.
The Xiongan New Area, about 100km (62 miles) south of Beijing, now has 25 government agencies to guide its continued expansion, city authorities said after a meeting on Saturday.
Among these are four district management committees, and 21 municipal departments – similar to existing urban centres, according to details posted on the Xiongan city website.
The departments will oversee sectors including education and healthcare, technological innovation, industrial development and administrative approvals.
“A city management system that matches high-quality construction, high-level management, and high-quality relocation and development has been essentially established,” Xiongan authorities said in a statement on the website.
Xiongan New Area, dubbed as China’s “city of the future”, was announced by the top Communist Party leadership in 2017, who described it as “a strategy crucial for a millennium to come”.
In April that year, Xi designated three counties in Hebei province next to Beijing as the “Xiongan New Area”.

Initially designed to ease overcrowding in the capital, the city is also expected to speed up regional development, including Hebei and the neighbouring megacity of Tianjin.
The massive project aims to relocate key institutions such as universities and state-owned enterprises from Beijing, with aerospace and satellite communication among major industry clusters to be fostered in the new city.
Party leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the project during the third plenum – a key economic policy meeting – held in July.
Construction financing for Xiongan hit a record in the third quarter of 2024, with five batches of ultra-long special bond sales bringing in more than 14 billion yuan (US$1.9 billion) as development speeds up.
Saturday’s meeting noted the need to explore new urban management models, and innovate in areas such as resource allocation, administrative law enforcement, public service provision, and operational management, according to the city website.
Leading a high-level inspection visit to Xiongan in May last year, Xi emphasised the need to “optimise and improve the leadership system and management mechanisms of the region, and gradually and steadily push the transformation towards a city management system”.
According to official plans, Xiongan will be “basically developed into a modern socialist city” by 2035.
However, the ambitious plan has raised concerns among some observers who say the landlocked area is not close to any regional commercial hubs and there are few incentives for people to move there.


As of 2020, the city had 1.2 million permanent residents. A visit by the South China Morning Post over last summer confirmed that much of the urban hardware was already in place. However, few people were out and many street-level commercial spaces were vacant.
Local authorities vowed at Saturday’s meeting to improve public services, including schools and hospitals, services essential to draw more people to relocate from Beijing.
State media reported in October that more than 760 billion yuan had been invested in Xiongan’s construction and infrastructure, including a high-speed railway station connecting with Beijing and Tianjin.


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Xiongan New Area

China’s ‘city of the future’ Xiongan takes another step towards ambitious goals

Xiongan New Area, about 100km south of Beijing, aims to become “a modern socialist city” by 2035. Photo: Xinhua

President Xi Jinping leads senior officials on an inspection visit to the Xiongan New Area in May 2023. Photo: Xinhua

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Hundreds of billions of yuan have been invested in the Xiongan New Area’s construction, including roads, residential blocks, schools, hospitals and a high-speed railway station. Photo: Xinhua

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 Illustration: Brian Wang

The city is still under construction. Photo: Xinhua

Few people could be seen on the streets during a recent visit to the city. Photo: Sylvie Zhuang

Some residential units appear to be slowly filling up. Photo: Sylvie Zhuang

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Below the smart city of Xiongan is a subterranean network of tunnels, now with its own groundbreaking navigation system. Photo: Xinhua

Below the surface of Xiongan New Area, about 100km southwest of Beijing, lies a maze of tunnels, car parks and cables – which provided a challenge to navigation system experts. Photo: Xinhua

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Chinese President Xi Jinping says the Xiongan New Area will be one of two “wings” for the Jing-Jin-Ji project. Photo: Xinhua

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China

Xiongan New Area now has 25 government agencies to guide continued expansion, city website says citing latest meeting


Xiongan New Area now has 25 government agencies to guide continued expansion, city website says citing latest meeting.


Xi Jinping

China’s ‘city of the future’ Xiongan takes another step towards ambitious goals

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Xiongan New Area now has 25 government agencies to guide continued expansion, city website says citing latest meeting

Xiongan New Area now has 25 government agencies to guide continued expansion, city website says citing latest meeting