Xiongan New Area reaps fruit from its ecological blueprint Landmark zone pursues high-tech, low-carbon way
ON a sunny, warm spring morning, a heavy truck carrying tree seedlings slowly comes to stop. A dibble machine leaves a line of tree holes, as workers get ready to plant trees in the soil.
It is a forestation site in Xiongxian County, part of the Xiongan New Area, a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing. It is the third new area of national significance after the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area.
China announced the establishment of Xiongan New Area on April 1, 2017, aiming to build it as a low-carbon, intelligent, livable and globally influential city where people and nature exist in harmony. The tree plantation project is part of the area’s green drive.
The fine-selected seedlings were delivered with tender care. Delivery workers sprayed water on them to keep them humid and moved them gently to avoid the soil detaching from the roots, said Xu Chengli, an expert of the Xiongan ecological construction company.
On the planting site, each seedling carrys a label with a QR code that tells its species, location, name of its nursery, and other information. The QR code forms part of a “digital forest” system, allowing Xiongan to manage its forest efficiently.
The seedling is also supported by a bamboo pole, tied together with a loop that expands automatically as the seedling grows.
Since last autumn, 260,000 trees have been planted in Xiongan New Area, according to Peng Xugeng, general manager of the company. A further 15 million trees will be added this year. Total planned forest area will reach 67,000 hectares, onethird of Xiongan New Area.
Together with the wetland of Baiyangdian, 70 percent of the new area will be covered with water or trees. IN less than four months, the main structures of the Xiongan Public Services Center, including eight separate buildings, were completed in Xiongan New Area, a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing.
The Xiongan Public Services Center, occupying 24 hectares in Rongcheng County, was the first engineering project in the area, and plans are being made to build others.
Senior engineer Song Fusheng is proud of the center. Building materials are prefabricated and assembled, with minimal impact on environment. The construction speed was two to three times that of a regular project, he said.
Song participated in the building of the Shenzhen International Trade Center, a 160-meter-high building which was then the highest nationwide. “It took us 37 months to finish the building. I feel honored to be part of the historic moment again in Xiongan,” he said.
In building the Xiongan center, workers reduced construction waste by 80 percent. Facilities are built to collect and purify rainfall. Workers used more than 30 new environmentally-friendly construction technologies.
“The walls were made with heat-insulating materials. The indoor temperature can be kept above 16 degrees Celsius in winter without having to turn on air conditioning or heating,” said Ye Jian, technological supervisor in the project.
“High-tech, energy-saving, and environmentally-friendly are the foundations on which Xiongan is built,” he said.
Advanced technology has been applied at the construction site. Cameras scan workers’ faces and read subtle changes to conclude whether a worker is stressed, needs to rest, or whether it is safe for them to undertake high-risk work.
During the past year, 19 high-tech companies, including Alibaba and Baidu, have signed cooperation agreements with the Xiongan management committee, and more than 100 high-tech companies have obtained commerce registration in Xiongan, said Liu Baoling, deputy director of the management committee.
Environmental cleanups are also under way. Last year, over 860,000 cubic meters of garbage was cleared from Baiyangdian Wetland. A total of 147 sewerage stations were built in 45 villages in the wetland. More than 80 million cubic meters of water has been added to the wetland.