Uncertainty hangs over residents of China's latest economic project

Record ID: 559785

  • Title: Uncertainty hangs over residents of China's latest economic project
  • Date: 7th April 2017
  • Summary: HEBEI, CHINA (APRIL 7, 2017) (REUTERS) MAN CYCLING/ OLD HOUSE BROKEN WINDOW IN HOUSE FISHERMAN ON LAKE MAN LEANING ON TRICYCLE WOMAN WITH FISHING NET FISH IN BOWLS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 40-YEAR-OLD RESIDENT WANG LIXIAN, SAYING: "I was really happy when I heard the news, really excited, it's like this place has been transformed, everyone says that we're going to be well of
  • Embargoed: 21st April 2017 08:50
  • Keywords: China economy Xiongan Hebei special economic zone mega project
  • Location: HEBEI AND BEIJING, CHINA
  • City: HEBEI AND BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016BEFZNP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: President Xi Jinping's ambition to build a shining new economic zone south of Beijing has ignited hopes and concerns in a quiet backwater frequently mired in toxic smog and sluggish growth.
    The three counties that make up the new district - Xiongxian, Anxin and Rongcheng - are a two-hour drive from downtown Beijing and are currently home to wheat fields, small scale manufacturing and basic infrastructure.
    In Zhaobeikou, a relatively poor town where people have made a living from fishing for generations, there was huge excitement among residents who felt their lives have been changed overnight.
    "It's like this place has been transformed," said Wang Lixian, a 40-year-old fisherwoman who never went to primary school. "Everyone says that we're going to be well off, in one night we've suddenly become city dwellers, I'm so happy."
    Details for the transformation plan remains thin, but the area has already seen the coming and going of hordes of property speculators, prompting local officials to roll out emergency curbs on sales and construction.
    Even in sleepy Zhaobeikou volunteers are now stationed on the road to make sure that no vehicles carrying construction materials enter the town.
    At larger developments, loudspeakers blasted out notices banning the buying and selling of houses.
    Despite the furore amongst would-be housebuyers, economists and commentators question whether the designated new area will be able to replicate the stunning success of Shenzhen and Shanghai's Pudong.
    Many locals, who have farmed the land for generations, also worry that they will be unable to adjust to city life.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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