An aerial drone photo taken on March 18, 2026 shows an artificial intelligence industrial park in the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province.

Since China announced plans to establish the Xiong'an New Area in April 2017, the city has evolved from a blueprint into a vibrant city. This new area is designed to relieve functions that are non-essential to Beijing's role as the national capital and advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

In the nine years, Xiong'an has, from the very beginning, adhered to high standards of planning and design, adopting a "moving in after infrastructure is in place" approach, ensuring that networks of water, electricity, gas, roads and bridges are established first.

Dubbed the "city of the future," Xiong'an is undergoing rapid changes. Official data reveals a more detailed picture: the developed area spans around 215 square kilometers with more than 5,300 buildings shaping the urban skyline, housing 1.41 million residents and 669 high-tech enterprises. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)