An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2026 shows the early summer scenery at the Yuerong Park in Xiongan New Area in north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Su Kaiyang)

SHIJIAZHUANG, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Xiongan New Area, China's "city of the future" built on the North China Plain, is drawing wide attention with the 2026 Global Governance Forum (Xiongan) scheduled to kick off there on Friday.

The forum brings together leading figures in strategic affairs, politics, academia, business, media and youth affairs from around the world, particularly those working on issues related to the United Nations, climate change, artificial intelligence and multilateral trade.

While the attendees discuss frontier topics ranging from climate change and AI governance to multilateral trade and sustainable urban development, the host city Xiongan, located in north China's Hebei Province, itself serves as a living laboratory for global governance, with hands-on experience in urban governance, green transition and digital governance.

Located about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, the new city that is still taking shape has covered 222 square kilometers of developed urban area. Over 5,300 buildings have been completed, with a total floor area exceeding 62.14 million square meters.

In April 2017, China decided to establish the Xiongan New Area as part of a strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Serving as a hub to accommodate non-capital functions relocated from Beijing, the city was designed to be smart, green, innovative, livable, and free from "urban ills."

DIGITAL CITY

When it comes to digital governance, the Xiongan Urban Computing Center, notably, holds more than 40 billion high-quality data records. The city has built over 500 kilometers of smart roads, leveraging 5G technology for intelligent connected vehicle trials. The roads are equipped with lampposts that integrate traffic lights and various sensors.

The computing center, with its facade reminiscent of the shape of an eye, is considered the city's "brain." On a huge electronic screen, real-time data show the city's operation in nearly every respect. Which road has more traffic? Anything unusual in the underground pipes? Are the neighborhood trash cans full? In Xiongan, every building has its digital model, and every pipe is fitted with sensors.

Xiongan has been planned and built as three synchronized cities. Beyond the urban surface buildings, there is a city in the cyber cloud and another underground.

Beneath the ground run utility tunnels. Water, electricity, gas and heating pipelines are all placed inside these tunnels, with reserved lanes for logistics.

On Tuesday, China National Data Group Co., Ltd., a new state-owned enterprise (SOE) directly administered by the central government, was officially inaugurated in Xiongan.

It is positioned as a national team for data services, a leader in data infrastructure connectivity, and a strategic force for national data sci-tech innovation.

GREEN DEVELOPMENT

Above ground, Xiongan is a garden city. Residents can reach a park within a 300-meter walk, and a woodland within three kilometers.

Xiongan's urban development places the natural landscape at the heart of the city's design, laying a solid foundation for an eco-friendly future city to ensure quality of life.

Since 2019, Xiongan has embarked on a comprehensive initiative to treat rural sewage, garbage and toilet waste in the vicinity of Baiyangdian Lake, one of northern China's major wetlands.

Latest figures reveal that the city has completed 484,500 mu (roughly 32,300 hectares) of new afforestation, bringing its total green area to 744,500 mu and lifting its forest coverage rate to 35.2 percent.

According to Xiongan's planning and construction bureau, green buildings account for 100 percent of new projects, with some achieving ultra-low energy consumption.

ALLEVIATING BEIJING'S PRESSURE

After nine years of construction, Xiongan has become a key hub for the relocation of Beijing's non-capital functions.

Among these relocated projects, the headquarters of China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. operates steadily. Headquarters of Sinochem Holdings and China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. have settled and begun regular operations in Xiongan. Also, China Mineral Resources Group Ltd. has seen the near completion of the main structure of its headquarters in the city.

Four universities and several hospitals from Beijing, including Beijing Jiaotong University and Peking University People's Hospital, are under construction in Xiongan.

To date, more than 400 branches of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) directly administered by the central government and over 600 high-tech firms have settled there.

"The forum held in Xiongan builds an important platform to exchange urban governance ideas and share cutting-edge insights with the world," said Li Huaxia, head of the publicity, cyberspace affairs and information bureau of Xiongan New Area.

By hosting this international forum, Xiongan is putting its capacity to the test, while demonstrating its pivotal role in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its unique geographic advantages.

In terms of transport, it sits close to Beijing Daxing International Airport. A direct expressway opened in 2023 connecting Xiongan and this airport.

Xiongan is just a 30-minute high-speed rail ride away from Beijing. Last month, China also opened a high-speed rail section connecting Xiongan with Shangqiu in central China's Henan Province.

Noting that the Xiongan-Shangqiu section fills a gap in Xiongan's southbound high-speed rail corridor, Liu Yanhong, deputy general manager of Xiongan high-speed railway corporation, said the line facilitates commuting and business exchanges for relocated enterprises and institutions, and supports stronger industrial cooperation along the route.