Within just seven years, China transformed marshes and fields into a vast $93 billion metropolis, Xiongan. Spanning three times the size of New York City, this megacity urban development project was to unclog Beijing and showcase China’s skills in town planning. But despite all its splendor, Xiongan lies emptily haunting, raising serious doubts about the feasibility of large-scale centralized planning.
A City Built from Scratch
Years ago, in 2017, the area Xiongan now occupies was nothing but fields used for farming. Now, there are sleek office buildings, five-star hotels, and one of China’s largest train stations—the size of which can accommodate 100,000 passengers a day, occupying the space of 88 football fields. But far from crowded lines, the corridors of the station ring with the sound of cleaners’ footsteps, a testament to the difference between dreams and harsh realities.
The Human Cost of Development
The building of Xiongan was at a high human price. It entailed the leveling of whole villages and the mass relocation of citizens to new apartment complexes. It became even more controversial in 2023 when Xiongan was threatened by a severe flood. Government officials made the contentious decision to divert the floodwaters away from Xiongan and release them pouring into neighboring towns where citizens actually did reside. This move further solidified the perception that the city is not so much about serving people but about actualizing a political vision.
The Political Gamble
Xiongan is widely regarded as the personal undertaking of President Xi Jinping, a signal of China’s planning and doing ability in mega-sized urban construction. The government insists stubbornly on 1.2 million residents, but it includes already existing neighborhood towns. Freshly constructed land still remains mostly empty, displaying little of the burgeoning population city planners had envisioned.
The Economic Constraints Holding Xiongan Back
The reasons for Xiongan’s unpopularity are government restrictions imposed in order to prohibit speculation but which actually frightened investors and residents away:
All property transaction in real estate form is totally banned.
Anything held in form of housing belongs to the state and is governed by price limits.
Extremely little business can conduct business there.
These regulations, though well-intentioned, have choked organic development. Instead of being a booming economic hub, Xiongan is a testament to over-centralized planning with no dynamism for genuine urban prosperity.
A Lesson in Centralized Planning
Xiongan is a perfect example of the dangers of over-centralization—where political intent overrules economic reality, waste and inefficiency are certain. The city is politically too important to leave behind, so resources will still be directed towards it regardless of whether or not it makes sense economically.
This phenomenon is more than just urban planning. In tech, particularly in Web3, the same issue arises when projects become too reliant on centralized power rather than enabling decentralized innovation. The lesson of Xiongan is clear: sustainable development requires more than mission statements—it requires flexibility, market forces, and real human contact. Without them, even the most visionary ventures turn into expensive, empty monuments to planning failures.
