Xiongan is Xi Jinping’s pet project

Six years ago, when China unveiled its grandiose plan to build a new metropolis 100km south of Beijing, it was hard to envisage the finished product. Ambitious planners promised a “first-class international city” covering 2,000 square kilometres, nearly three times the size of New York City. The “Xiongan New Area”, as it is called, would be a green, ultra-modern annexe to Beijing, easing pressure on the congested capital, where more than 21m people live. But at the time Xiongan was just a sprawling expanse of scrubby lowlands and shabby villages.