https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Beijing-Diary-A-visit-to-Xi-s-new-283bn-city
The Chinese government is battling to contain the coronavirus outbreak that has infected tens of thousands and killed more than 4,000 people, while spreading worldwide. Nikkei's bureau chief in China, Tetsushi Takahashi, is on the ground in the capital and is filing dispatches on what he sees.
As tough restrictions on travel outside Beijing were relaxed at the end of April, I took a weekend trip to the Xiongan New Area in neighboring Hebei Province.
The new city, under development since April 2017, is a pet project of President Xi Jinping. When the area came into view, after a two-hour drive southwest on an expressway, it looked different than what I remembered from my last visit two years ago.
The development plan calls for spending 2 trillion yuan ($283 billion) over about two decades to build a city spread across 2,000 sq. kilometers -- rivaling Tokyo in size. The envisioned population is over 2 million.
Where I had once seen endless farmland, a group of large construction machines now stood. The rezoning of the central area appeared to be nearly complete, paving the way for building construction. The presence of scattered workers suggested that the project was back underway after a suspension due to the coronavirus.
The Xiongan Station construction site was impressive. The huge main building -- its frame appeared to be nearly complete -- reminded me of an airport terminal. It will become a major transport hub, with high-speed trains coming and going.
That the government is building such an enormous station in the middle of nowhere is a testament to Xi's high expectations for the project.
The Xiongan citizen service center was closed to the general public as a virus precaution. On my previous visit, the place had been crowded with visitors.
I was able to sneak a peek from outside. Baidu, China's answer to Google, is testing its Apollo self-driving platform there. I could see a small driverless bus moving around. Global companies including Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Volkswagen and Intel are working with Baidu on the technology.
The People's Bank of China, the central bank, has also started testing a digital version of the yuan in the area, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Xiongan is due for completion in the mid-2030s, as Xi and the Communist Party push their pivotal "millennium plan." I wonder how this futuristic city -- intended as a symbol of high-tech power -- will look then....