Xiongan at nine: From blueprint to a model city of the future

Just an hour's drive from Beijing, a futuristic city is taking shape on the North China Plain – Xiongan New Area.

Nine years on, the transformation is already visible. More than 5,300 buildings have risen from the ground, alongside more than 400 branches of state-owned enterprises, directly administered by the central government, and 600 high-tech firms. Newly planted forests now extend across vast areas, reshaping the region's ecological landscape.

Yet what defines Xiongan is not only the scale of its construction, but the clarity of its vision: a city where technology, ecology, and human well-being are designed to evolve together.

What began as a blueprint in 2017 is now taking shape as a model city of the future.

From the rooftop of the International Trade Center in Xiongan's startup area, a new urban core comes into view: headquarters of major state-owned enterprises already in operation, financial districts under development, and green corridors weaving water and city into a unified landscape.

Xiongan was designed as the primary destination for relocating Beijing's non-essential capital functions – its core mission since inception. Over recent years, institutions such as China Satellite Network Group, China Huaneng Group, and Sinochem Holdings have established headquarters here, while universities and top-tier hospitals are building new campuses.

Yet beyond infrastructure, Xiongan's defining ambition is to create what planners call a "people's city."

Public services have been rolled out rapidly: more than 100 schools and kindergartens have been built, alongside a growing network of healthcare and community facilities. Housing policies prioritize affordability through a multi-tier system offering options ranging from shared accommodation to full home ownership.

Urban governance centers on human well-being. Child-friendly zones, youth development programs, and elderly care facilities are integrated into planning, ensuring inclusivity across generations.

The result is a city built not only for efficiency, but for everyday life. Residents increasingly enjoy a "15-minute living circle," where work, education, healthcare, and leisure are all within easy reach.

Beyond livability, Xiongan is positioning itself as a new frontier for innovation.

Last year, the first "Xiongan-made" satellite "Xiongan-1" has completed production and rolled off the assembly line, marking a milestone in the region's growing aerospace information industry. Anchored by leading enterprises such as China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd., more than 60 companies have clustered to form a complete industrial chain spanning satellite development, manufacturing, and applications.

Rather than simply transferring technology from other sectors, Xiongan focuses on advancing commercialization by turning research results into viable industries. More than 10 innovation platforms, including the Xiongan Science and Technology Innovation Center, have been established to support this ecosystem.

To date, over 2,600 technology-driven enterprises have been cultivated, making innovation a key engine of growth. In some cases, companies have rapidly scaled from startups to nationally recognized "specialized and sophisticated" firms within just a year.

In February, China's State Council has approved the upgrade of the Xiongan high-tech industrial development zone into a national-level high-tech industrial development zone, further consolidating its role as a regional innovation hub within the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region.

Rising beside a tranquil stretch of water, a striking arched structure forms the shape of an "eye" when reflected on its surface. Locally known as the "Eye of Xiongan," the city's computing center offers a glimpse into the building of a digital city.

Inside the "Eye of Xiongan," the future of urban governance is already taking shape. With a click on a digital interface, the regions' buildings can be visualized floor by floor, down to individual workspaces. In Xiongan, every newly constructed structure is paired with a digital twin, an exact virtual replica that evolves in parallel with the physical city.

This synchronized development lies at the core of Xiongan's "smart city" vision. Unlike conventional cities that retrofit digital systems after construction, Xiongan has integrated them from the very beginning. A centralized "urban brain" supported by interconnected data platforms and intelligent systems enables real-time monitoring and management across the city.

Today, the system has aggregated tens of billions of data points, covering everything from traffic flows to environmental conditions. A unified cloud-based government platform links more than 100 administrative systems, allowing data to move seamlessly across departments.

The impact is tangible. Processes that once required layers of approval can now be completed almost instantly within a secure data-sharing framework – making governance more responsive and efficient.

Beyond the urban core, digital innovation is also reshaping rural life. In communities near Baiyangdian Lake, technologies such as satellite positioning, drones, and AI are being deployed to monitor waterways, manage resources, and improve emergency responses. What was once managed through manual oversight is now coordinated through intelligent systems.