byXinhuawriterMaYujieBEIJING,Feb.29(Xinhua)--Whatisanidealurbanlife?Tome,it'sawalkablecommunitywhereIcantakeadvantageofavarietyofconvenientamenitiesandopportunitiesforenjoyment;aplacewithcleanairandminimaltrafficcongestion.Itissomewherethatfostersdaringlynovelideas,technologiesandwaysoflife.AndI'mgladtosayIhavefoundsomecluesastowheresuchaplacemightexist.MypeekintothefuturebeganwithajourneytoTianjin,about100kmawayfromBeijing.Honestlyspeaking,everytimeItaketheBeijing-Tianjinintercitybullettrain,Iamamazedbythespeedandcomfortofthetrip.TheridetoTianjin'sWuqingDistricttookjust22minutes,quickerthanittakesmetofinishmycoffee.PriortothatwhenIskimmedthroughthetimetableinsearchofasuitabledeparturetime,Iwaspresentedwithjaw-droppingoptions--nearly500traintripsaremadedailybetweenthetwocities--andthat'smerelythenumberofhigh-speedones.Thetripwasatotaltreat.There'snoneedtopackanyluggage,notevenalaptop,ashalfadayisallIneedtofinishmyworkandcomeback.BehindthatisanationalstrategytointegratetheBeijing-Tianjin-Hebeiregion,alsoknownas"Jing-Jin-Ji,"coveringmorethan100millionpeoplelivingintheregion's13citiesattheprefecturelevelandabove.Exactlyonedecadeago,theregion'scoordinateddevelopmentwasproposedasanationalstrategy,asBeijing,theChinesecapitalcity,wastroubledwith"bigcitymalaise."Thechokingsmogremainsavividmemoryforme,alongwithterribletrafficcongestionandanoverloadedservicesystem,allofwhichforcedmanyto"escape"thecity.DuringmyrecentvisitstoseverallocationssinHebeiandTianjin,theweatherwasstillatopicofconversation--butinagoodway--thecrystalblueskyisnowanewnormal,thankstocollaborativeeffortsmadeoverthepastdecade.Wecanseeaclearpicturethroughsimpledata.Inthepast10years,Beijinghasresettled3,000manufacturingenterprises,relocatedorupgradednearly1,000marketsandlogisticscenters,metthetargetofa15-percentreductionofpermanentresidentsinsixurbandistricts,andincreasedtheproportionofnewlyestablishedbusinessentitiesinhigh-techindustriesfrom40.7to66.1percent.Meanwhile,enterprisesinTianjinandHebeihavereceived2.3trillionyuan(about323.6billionU.S.dollars)ininvestmentsfromBeijing.Withamorerationalindustriallayout,theregionsawitsgrossdomesticproductgrow90percentfrom2013to10.4trillionyuanin2023.Inadditiontothrivingindustries,residentsaremakingahomeintheregion.IntegrationhasnotonlyhelpedBeijingbecomeleaner,butalsobenefitedneighboringdwellerswithbettereducation,medicaltreatment,infrastructureandoverallcompetitiveness.BeforegoingtoTianjin,IpaidavisittoXiong'an,whichisalsoamajorplayerintheregionalintegration.Spanninganareaof1,770-square-kilometers,theXiong'anNewArea,locatedabout100kilometerssouthwestofBeijing,wasestablishedonApril1,2017andisdubbedthe"cityofthefuture."Now,Xiong'anisgrowingfastandsmart,withonefootalreadyfirmlysetinthefuture.NarratorsoftheurbanplanningdepartmenttoldmethatXiong'an'sinfrastructuresystemispoweredbysmarttechnologies,whichenableittoavoidvarious"urbanills"inadvance.Forexample,whenyoudriveontheroad,trafficlightsaredesignedtofacilitateanefficientflowoftrafficandthesystemwillrecommendthebestroutebasedonbigdataanalysis.EventheinternetcelebritycafeinXiong'anisrunbyarobotbarista...Inlessthansevenyears,over3,000buildingshaverisenfromthepreviouslybarrenlowlandsandshabbyvillagesinXiong'an.Thecentrally-administeredstate-ownedenterpriseshavesetupmorethan200subsidiariesandvariousbranchesinthearea.Xiong'an'splannerstoldmethatthecityaimstocreateahabitableparadiseforresidents,withparks,amusementfacilities,schoolsandconveniencestoresallavailablewithina15-minutewalkingdistance."Icouldseemydreamlifetakeshapehere,andI'mthrilledtoembraceitintheyearstocome,"XuMengchao,whorunsabio-pharmaceuticalstart-upinXiong'an,toldmeinajollytone.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.