Editor's note: China Daily reporters leverage local expertise to devise diverse itineraries that showcase a blend of historical landmarks and natural wonders in highly recommended cities and sites, offering practical guidance to experience the country.
Half futuristic tech hub, half ecological and traditional retreat — that's Xiong'an New Area — a smart city rising from North China's Hebei province since 2017. Built to ease Beijing's non-capital functions, it is also meant to model how cities of the future might work.
Nestled on the North China Plain, Xiong'an carries a cultural heritage that spans thousands of years. Once known as Xiongzhou, it was a vital border town during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), witnessing centuries of history.
In 2017, about 100 kilometers south of Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area was established — a city planned from scratch and powered by digital twin technology.
Still under construction, with completion slated for 2035, it is already drawing a growing number of tourists who come to explore this city of the future. Here, service robots greet visitors in hotels, cafes, shopping malls and libraries. Driverless taxis glide smoothly through the streets. Smart traffic systems ensure seamless travel, and drones clean high-rise buildings with precision. It is a place where you can immerse yourself in China's cutting-edge technology and feel the speed of innovation firsthand.
But the city is not all steel and code. Green space runs through its core. Yuerong Park, with nine classical Chinese gardens, connects to a wider network of parks designed for leisure and outdoor sports, giving the city an unexpectedly relaxed pace.
Surrounding the smart city is Baiyangdian Lake, known as the "Pearl of North China". More than 140 interconnected lakes shimmer across the landscape. Crystal-clear waters support 296 species of wild birds while in summer, vast fields of lotus bloom across the wetlands. Reed marshes form dense, winding corridors, alive with birdsong. In autumn, golden reeds transform the lake into a quiet, luminous scene.
The lake's bounty and its intangible cultural heritage add more charm to the city tour. The fish feast is a must-try: steamed carp is tender and juicy, fish-scale jelly is smooth and jiggly, and shrimp pancake is crispy and fragrant — each bite captures the lake's fresh essence.
The intangible cultural heritage of reed painting is a treasure of Baiyangdian. Craftsmen use local plants, cutting, ironing and piecing them together to create three-dimensional paintings of lake scenery, flowers, birds and fish, offering visitors a distinctive keepsake.
From its thousands of years of cultural heritage to its vision as a smart city of the future, Xiong'an — an emerging city of tomorrow — weaves a beautiful narrative of harmony between tradition and modernity, inviting exploration even as it takes shape.
