Economic powerhouse rises from China's Bohai Bay

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Development of the Bohai Bay area is taking shape nearly four years after Xi Jinping announced his plan for integrating the growing economic area of northern China.

The region of over 150 million people encompasses Beijing, Tianjin and the province of Hebei.

Take a visit to Hebei, for instance, and you'll witness cutting edge developments in manufacturing, health care, and even the entertainment industry.

A robot goes about its daily manufacturing tasks at Robot Town in Langfang in Hebei. /Xinhua Photo

Welcome to Langfang.

One example is Xianghe Robot Town, a community in the city of Langfang where the residents are, well, robots. Building a complete industrial system that incorporates cloud computing and ecological efficiency, Xianghe's robot network aims to create a faster moving supply chain, via several companies.

It may even put human workers out of work.

"In the future, we will have a new, totally new production line, automatically," says Aaron Sun, a marketing officer with Nimak based at Robot Town. "And then we can see a lot of quantity and goods to our customers not only in China but outside of China."

Xianghe's closeness to Beijing and relatively quick access to airports and seaports help to expedite the export process.

A testing ground for dozens of smart technology innovations, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area works as a base for product makers.

Not far from Xianghe, one finds Guoan Maker's Hebei base.

Firefighters can use this hose and attachment to fire fluids dozens of stories high. /Chinanews Photo

"In Beijing, we support intelligent hardware and the internet of things, a network of physical devices and other items embedded with electronics and software," says Zhang Liwen, Guoan's general manager. "In Hebei, we support cultural and creative projects."

One of those projects is the design of technologies to fight fires in high-rise buildings.

And love them or hate them, drones play a role here.

They fly fire-extinguishing fluid dozens of stories up, working in tandem with advanced long-range spray hoses that are used from the ground.

A high-flying drone can also catch a glimpse of another Langfang destination, Dachang Film and TV Town. It's home to modern cinematography technology and six production studios.

It has attracted more than 70 leading industry companies, which have invested billions into Dachang Film and TV Town, thus fueling the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic circle in a big way.

One final stop in Langfang took us to Hebei Yanda Hospital, which is already in an existing partnership with other hospitals, namely Beijing Chaoyang.

"They send here, quite a lot, not only doctors and specialists but also managerial staff," says Wu Yiming, managing president of Hebei Yanda Hospital. "They enhance our quality in some medical departments."

Seniors work out at Yanda Hospital's nursing home. /Xinhua Photo

The staff become part of Yanda's international health city, which has a nursing center, research institute, and much more.

It largely fulfills the health care needs of the Beijing-Tianjin Hebei region and has become an integral part of growing the zone into an economic powerhouse through coordinated development.