On April 1, the Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province celebrated its fourth "birthday". The area covers 1, 770 square kilometers. It's about 100 km southwest of Beijing.
The Xiongan New Area is the third important new area after the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone(经济特区) and the Shanghai Pudong New Area. The Xiongan New Area will help solve problems in Beijing, like traffic jams-拥堵and air pollution. For example, this year Hebei Province will speed up the building of an express line (机场快线) between Xiongan and Beijing Daxing International Airport. The express line is going to be finished by the end of 2023.
The building of an Internet industrial (工艺的)park and a science and technology park will also begin in Xiongan this year. What's more, the area will improve the water quality (质量) of Baiyangdian Lake, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in North China.
Xiongan is also called China's "city of the future". According to the 2018-2035 master plan for the Xiongan New Area, the area will develop into a modern city that is green, smart and livable (宜居的) by 2035. It will also be a place for innovation (创新).