China announced plans to create Xiongan New Area in April as part of the integration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It is designed to ameliorate urban ills such as traffic congestion and air pollution.

Located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, the new area has a substantial footprint in three existing counties of Hebei province－Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin.

The New Area will cover around 100 square km initially and will be expanded to 200 square km, and eventually to about 2,000 square km in the long term.