The State Council has approved a national territorial spatial plan for Shijiazhuang, the capital city of North China's Hebei province, for the 2021-2035 period, according to an official announcement issued on Dec 18.

As a national comprehensive transportation hub, Shijiazhuang holds significant importance as a major city in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

As per the reply, by 2035, the total area of cultivated land in Shijiazhuang should be no less than 7.1449 million mu, of which the protection area for permanent basic farmland should be at least 6.1887 million mu, and the red line area for ecological protection should not be less than 2633.33 square kilometers.

The reply called upon Shijiazhuang to deeply integrate into the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and strengthen collaboration with Beijing, Tianjin and Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province.

Efforts should be made to accelerate the building of the urban system featuring regional coordination and urban-rural integration and improve service capabilities of downtown areas.

In the meantime, measures will be taken to fortify the Taihang Mountains ecological shelter zone, enhance the protection and restoration of the ecological systems of rivers, protect water sources including Gangnan and Huangbizhuang reservoirs, and exercise strict control over excessive exploitation of groundwater.

The circular also stressed to meet modern urban agriculture’s requirement for further development, and expand the production space for local agricultural specialties.

Furthermore, Shijiazhuang is asked to give priorities to guarantee the development space for advanced manufacturing and modern services industry, such as biomedicine and electronic information.

To build a comprehensive urban transport network that is safe, convenient, green and low-carbon, Shijiazhuang should strengthen its function as a railway and logistics hub and improve external and internal channels with multi-directional connectivity and multimodal transport.

In addition, the protection mechanism for cultural and natural heritages should be improved, according to the reply.