Xiongan holds out lots of promises for foreign firms

To the south of Beijing, Xiongan New Area is taking shape not only to offload non-capital functions from Beijing but also to become a "world-class water and forest city". The new city in Hebei province will be larger than London, which covers about 1,500 square kilometers.

Essentially, Xiongan New Area is a strategy to reduce congestion in the Chinese capital and create a new high-tech economic engine for China.

On April 1 last year, the plan to build Xiongan New Area was officially announced and management teams were put in place to guide the construction process. Now, the vast area in Hebei province, including three rural counties and North China's largest freshwater wetland Baiyangdian, is being developed into a modern but eco-friendly city.