A high-speed railway will be built from Xiongan New Area, in North China's Hebei province, to Xinzhou in neighboring Shanxi province, according to the Shanxi government.The railway was listed as one of the 15 key infrastructure projects that Shanxi will push forward this year, according to a government notice released recently.No construction timeline was given.Xinzhou, which is about 300 kilometers southwest of Xiongan, is the largest city by area in Shanxi. There's no railway linking it to Xiongan at present or to Baoding, where the new area is situated."Considering the economic role Xiongan will play for the country, the railway will be an important engine to drive development in the western part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," Liu Zhendong, deputy head of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Collaborative Development Office at Hebei University, was quoted as saying by Hebei Youth Daily.Xiongan New Area, another innovative hub with national significance on par with China's Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area, has been in the process of planning and building since it was established in April last year.The new area, about 100 km southwest of downtown Beijing, will help phase out noncapital functions from the capital, explore a new model of optimized development in densely populated areas and restructure the urban layout in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.Construction of transportation projects around Xiongan has begun, with the aim of linking to the outside.On Feb 28, the construction of an intercity railway between Beijing and Xiongan began.It will cut travel time between the capital and Xiongan by about 60 percent to about 30 minutes when it begins operations at the end of 2020, according to the builder, Beijing-Shenyang Railway Passenger Transport Beijing-Hebei Co.The builder also disclosed that a high-speed line linking Xiongan and Shangqiu in Central China's Henan province is being planned.Four north-south high-speed railway lines and two east-west rail routes will serve Xiongan in the future, according to a map provided in a report by China Central Television in January.The Xinzhou-Xiongan line is a section of one of the two eastwest routes. Another section is the Tianjin-Xiongan intercity railway. custom bar braceletcustom sports braceletscustom logo wristbandsde securite pour personne ageeembossed wristbandscolorfilled wristbandsembossed printed wristbandsdual layer wristbands
The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference holds a news conference on March 2, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua] The country's top political advisory body will actively support the implementation of the development goals of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a spokesman said on Saturday. Guo Weimin, spokesman for the second session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the CPPCC National Committee attaches great importance to the Greater Bay Area development, and is proactively facilitating its implementation. The CPPCC National Committee will hold thematic group discussions focusing on the Greater Bay Area during its annual plenary session, which will open on Sunday, Guo told reporters at the first press conference ahead of the annual two sessions in Beijing. The two sessions, or lianghui, are the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the CPPCC National Committee. The central government unveiled the long-anticipated outline development plan for the Greater Bay Area on Feb 18. The development blueprint lays out the vision for coordinated development of the 11-city cluster, comprised of the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and nine cities in Guangdong province. The plan aims at developing the region into an international first-class bay area, to rival the world's top city clusters in San Francisco, New York and Tokyo. The plan is an important outline document guiding the current and future cooperation and development of the Greater Bay Area, and maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao, Guo noted. The CPPCC National Committee will make ongoing efforts to do what it can to help implement the development goals of the Greater Bay Area. Throughout the year, the committee will continue to offer suggestions and gather views from the public by holding biweekly consultative meetings and online conferences of committee members, and organizing forums and studies, Guo said. Discussions will center on how to facilitate the Greater Bay Area's bid to become an international innovation and technology hub. Committee members also will exchange ideas about how to promote youth exchange across the region, and about innovation in institutions and mechanisms to advance the Greater Bay Area's development, Guo said. The 2,000-plus members of the CPPCC National Committee will use these various activities to help garner support and build consensus in pushing forward the region's integrated development. The CPPCC National Committee has consistently provided support to the development of the Greater Bay Area. While the region's development plan was in the formulation process, members of the CPPCC National Committee presented many relevant proposals last year, and 158 proposals have been accepted, Guo added. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland. Guo said the central government, the Macao SAR government and different organizations in the city are all preparing various celebratory activities to commemorate the joyous occasion. Macao has made remarkable strides in the past 20 years, with firm support from the central government. Under the one country, two systems principle, the SAR has adhered to people of Macao governing Macao with a high degree of autonomy, and has become a prosperous place that offers its residents stability and quality living standards, Guo said. He added that Macao will continue to play important roles as a global tourism and leisure center, and as an economic and trade cooperation platform between China and Lusophone (people culturally and linguistically linked to Portugal) countries. With its extensive international connections, Macao is also an important link in the Belt and Road Initiative.
