Beijing universities begin campus construction in Xiong'an New Area

SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of Beijing-based universities began construction of their respective campuses in Xiong'an New Area in neighboring Hebei Province on Tuesday.

The four universities, namely Beijing Jiaotong University, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing Forestry University, and the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), are all directly under the Ministry of Education.

The Xiong'an campuses are expected to contribute to the role of Xiong'an New Area as a thriving hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the new era.

China announced a plan to establish Xiong'an New Area, located about 100 km away from Beijing, in April 2017.

It has been designed as a major recipient of functions relieved from Beijing that are nonessential to its role as China's capital and to explore a new model of development in densely populated areas.