In China, Xi Jinping’s new mega city Xiongan is expanding underground
Geological survey says conditions good at Xiongan to develop shopping and entertainment complexes, plus other infrastructure beneath the surface
President Xi Jinping’s ambitious scheme to build a new city at Xiongan in northern China will not only change the landscape of the little known area in Hebei province, but also aims to create a new world underground.
Chinese geologists are examining subterranean conditions of Xiong, Rongcheng and Anxin counties, which will become a new district to rival special economic zones such as Shenzhen and Pudong in Shanghai, in the hope of building structures under the ground as well as above, state media reported.
The China Geological Survey, a research agency under the Ministry of Land and Resources, has found the area is “very suitable for underground development” in its preliminary surveys, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
A tentative plan suggested by the agency divided the subterranean areas to be developed into two sections: up to 26 metres underground and below 40 metres, the report said.
The higher sections will be used for storage, shopping and entertainment complexes, parking and civil defence, while lower sections will carry pipes and transportation.