Xiongan is Xi Jinping’s pet project
But it is taking a long time to build
Six years ago, when China unveiled its grandiose plan to build a new metropolis 100km south of Beijing, it was hard to envisage the finished product. Ambitious planners promised a “first-class international city” covering 2,000 square kilometres, nearly three times the size of New York City. The “Xiongan New Area”, as it is called, would be a green, ultra-modern annexe to Beijing, easing pressure on the congested capital, where more than 21m people live. But at the time Xiongan was just a sprawling expanse of scrubby lowlands and shabby villages.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “The city of Xi”
From the May 20th 2023 edition
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