China’s New Megacity: The Anti-Beijing

Ma Tianjie of Foreign Policy reports on the planned development of a new mega-city recently announced by the Chinese government in one of Beijing's neighboring provinces. The hope with Xiong’an New Area is to create the kind of areas that Shenzhen or Shanghai's Pudong area have become, with non-governmental functions, including corporate headquarters, moving from the capital of Beijing to the new town. However, some critics see little hope of repeating the economic boom that transformed the "backwaters" of Pudong and Shenzhen into global financial hubs. The government is also struggling to curb wild real estate speculation in the designated new area.1

• 1. Source: Panetizen