Society

A Greater Xi'an to lead rapid growth

By Wang Huazhong (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-14 07:53

BEIJING - Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province and the former capital of 13 dynasties, has set out its plan to expand and lead the development of western China.

The long-discussed integration of Xi'an, the origin of the Silk Road that was the bridge between China and Central Asia and Europe, and another ancient city, Xianyang, is being implemented as a way to build Xi'an into an international metropolis, said Shaanxi Governor Zhao Zhengyong at a news conference on Monday.

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A new district, which will be situated between the two cities, will be developed as part of "Greater Xi'an", the governor said.

"The ancient Chang'an (ancient name of Xi'an) kept ahead in urban planning in China for more than 1,000 years," Zhao said. "I hope the building of Greater Xi'an will be best practice for a modern garden city in the 21st century."

According to the plan, Greater Xi'an will include Xi'an, Xianyang and the new district, Xixian.

A 2009 State-level plan required provincial governments to "build Greater Xi'an to drive the Guanzhong (the central Shaanxi plain) economy and promote the development of Northwest China".

Li Yingming, a senior official of China's top economic planner, the National Development Reform Commission, said Greater Xi'an will be the "core" of the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone, which is "an important region for the new round of western development" and "a key zone for further industrialization and urbanization".

Zhao said Greater Xi'an will offer low-cost advantages, such as a good education system and abundant energy resources, to businesses that would relocate from comparatively well-developed coastal regions to the nation's west.

Official figures show the planned size of the new Xixian district will be 882 square kilometers, with a population of 893,000.

Industries in the new district will be high-tech intensive, low-carbon and supplementary to those in Xi'an and Xianyang.

The new district will also attract investors and visitors through the Weihe River, and less-known cultural heritage sites that feature mausoleums of ancient dynasties.

"So in the future, the life we will enjoy (in Xi'an) will be an organic combination of services provided by a modern city with the idyllic scenery of the surrounding countryside," said Jiang Zelin, deputy governor of Shaanxi.