Xiong’an New Area in Hebei province is developing an integrated digital infrastructure designed to support urban governance, public services and long‑term planning. At the centre of this system is the Xiong’an Urban Computing Center, which provides large‑scale data processing, storage and networking capabilities for the emerging smart city. According to a report by People’s Daily, the facility functions as the city’s core digital platform, enabling a range of data-driven services for residents, government agencies and research institutions.
Urban Computing Centre Serves as the City’s Digital Core
Located in the western area of Rongdong district, the Xiong’an Urban Computing Center is locally known as the “Eye of Xiong’an” because of its distinctive architectural design. Inside the facility, server clusters power a digital operations platform where large screens display a continuously updated virtual model of the city.
The centre integrates multiple computing technologies, including edge computing, cloud computing, supercomputing and intelligent computing. This architecture enables the platform to deliver computing, storage and network services for applications involving big data, blockchain and the Internet of Things across the city.
According to Zhao Song, an engineer at the facility, the integrated system supports a wide range of urban functions, from government service delivery to urban planning and environmental management.
Digital Services for Residents Through Xiong’an Pass
One practical application of the computing centre is the Xiong’an Pass system. The service allows residents to use a third‑generation social security card to access multiple services including government administration, healthcare, transport, social security and everyday payments.
More than 810,000 cards have been issued so far, with usage exceeding 6 million transactions. The platform must also support large spikes in demand. During a government-led consumption promotion campaign, the Xiong’an Pass mini‑programme recorded as many as 40,000 simultaneous connections when digital vouchers were released.
Zhang Xu, project manager for the Xiong’an Pass at China Xiong’an Group Digital City Company, said the computing centre provides essential bandwidth capacity and cloud responsiveness for these services.
Scaling Data Infrastructure With Sustainability Goals
The facility currently provides around 50 petabytes of storage capacity and has plans to expand to 1,000 petabytes. Its design includes more than 10,000 square metres of ultra‑low energy consumption building space, reflecting a broader emphasis on environmentally sustainable digital infrastructure.
All core technologies deployed in the centre—from chips and servers to cloud platforms and application systems—have been developed domestically. Government service systems across Xiong’an New Area are hosted on the platform.
The facility also supports operations from several enterprises and research institutions, including China Satellite Network Group Co Ltd, China Space-Time Information Co Ltd, China Xiong’an Group, the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Xiong’an Institute of Meteorological Artificial Intelligence.
To date, the centre has accumulated more than 38 billion data records and processed over 400 million shared interface calls.
Digital Twin Model Supports Urban Governance
Xiong’an is being developed with the concept that the digital city and the physical city evolve simultaneously. A digital twin model allows authorities to simulate and monitor urban systems in real time.
In the Rongdong district, for example, traffic lights automatically adjust signal timing according to real‑time traffic conditions. The system uses artificial intelligence to optimise traffic flow during peak commuting periods.
Digital monitoring also extends to underground utility infrastructure. Sensors, digital twin technology and building information modelling are used to track and provide early warnings for water, electricity, gas, heating and communications networks.
Each building, road and pipeline in the city is assigned a digital identification code, creating a detailed data framework for infrastructure management. Officials say this digital foundation enables more precise and efficient urban governance.
Xiong’an New Area has also established a smart city standards system based on building information modelling and city information modelling platforms. The city’s computing architecture combines edge and cloud resources with supercomputing capacity, while digital infrastructure supports full IPv6 coverage, the HarmonyOS ecosystem and citywide sensing systems.
Authorities are now deploying smart applications across sectors including public administration, environmental protection, transport and energy management as the city continues to develop its digital governance framework.
