by Li Zhuoxi

March 27， 2020： The construction site of the Xiongan station of the Beijing-Xiongan intercity railway. Xinhua

Xiongan New Area， about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing， spans the three Hebei counties of Xiongxian， Rongcheng and Anxin， situated at the center of the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region. The establishment of Xiongan New Area is expected to help phase out some non-capital functions of Beijing， explore a new model of optimized development in densely-populated areas， and restructure the urban layout of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

In January 2020， two plans for construction of a start-up area of Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province were approved by the State Council of China， bringing development of the new economic zone near Beijing to a new stage.

The start-up area will cover 198 square kilometers in the city proper of Xiongan New Area. Designed to host Beijings functions outside its role as the national capital， it will become the new home for many of Beijings colleges， research institutes， hospitals， business headquarters， and financial and public institutions.