Liu Yuanchun, vice-president of Renmin University of China

The infrastructure foundation in the region is poor, but this can be an advantage because it means fewer restrictions. It is much easier to try out innovations and paint a new concept on a blank sheet of paper.

Shi Jiangmin, reporter at a state-owned newspaper in Beijing

The new area will help elevate Hebei to be on a par with the more developed Beijing and Tianjin, creating a more balanced and optimized socioeconomic ecosphere. The Xiongan New Area will become a project for the history books and one of President Xi Jinping's great achievements.

Li Guoping, head of the Beijing Development Institute, Peking University

The development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region requires Beijing to redistribute its noncapital functions. The Xiongan New Area will be the destination of such redistribution and this model will serve as an example for other regions in China. Hence, the new area carries the dual responsibility of promoting economic growth and solving the megacity problems.

Liu Lei, a company employee in Rongcheng county, Hebei province

I'm very excited because this (building the Xiongan New Area) might be something you wouldn't see in your entire lifetime. This could be an opportunity for local young people. I'm thinking about starting my own business here, and I'm very much looking forward to the changes in the area in the next 20 years.

Lin Jie, an art gallery owner in Beijing

Moving institutions and companies to the new zone will help ease the overcrowding and pollution issues to some extent. However, Beijing is still superior in terms of education, healthcare, and infrastructure compared with other cities, meaning people will still choose to live in the capital if they can. The new area might become a "workplace city".

(China Daily European Weekly 04/07/2017 page15)