In March of this year, during an inspection of the Xiongan New Area in Hebei and while presiding over a symposium on advancing its high-quality construction and development, it was emphasized: “Improve the public service system, focus on ensuring and improving people’s livelihoods, and actively explore future-oriented smart city management models.”

On the eve of the Spring Festival, during a visit to grassroots cadres and the public in Beijing, it was pointed out: “Adhere to the people-centered city concept, focus on improving the basic public service system, make good use of mechanisms like ‘immediate response to complaints,’ and solidly solve the urgent, difficult, and worrisome problems of the people.”

Cities are an important carrier of modernization and a beautiful home for people’s happy lives. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan proposes: “Promote the transformation of urban development methods, and build innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient, civilized, and smart modern people-centered cities.”

Great importance has been attached to urban work. From creatively proposing in 2015 at the Central Urban Work Conference to “forge a path of urban development with Chinese characteristics,” to emphasizing in 2025 at the Central Urban Work Conference to “forge a new path of urban modernization with Chinese characteristics”; from proposing during a 2019 inspection in Shanghai that “cities are built by the people and for the people,” to emphasizing during a 2025 visit to Liaoning to see grassroots cadres and the public that urban renewal should “focus entirely on convenience, benefit, and security for the people”… there has always been deep concern for whether the people live comfortably and conveniently in cities.

The important discourse on urban work is both consistent and evolving with the times. “Building modern people-centered cities” provides important guidance for forging a new path of urban modernization with Chinese characteristics.

The Central Urban Work Conference held in 2025 deployed key tasks in seven areas of urban work: focus on optimizing the modern urban system, focus on building vibrant innovative cities, focus on building comfortable and convenient livable cities, focus on building green and low-carbon beautiful cities, focus on building safe and reliable resilient cities, focus on building virtuous and kind civilized cities, and focus on building convenient and efficient smart cities.

The new path corresponds to the old path of “extensive expansion, imbalance between people and land, and environmental damage.” China’s urbanization is shifting from a period of rapid growth to a period of stable development, and urban development is transitioning from a stage of large-scale incremental expansion to a stage focused on improving the quality and efficiency of existing stock. The two Central Urban Work Conferences, spanning a decade, accurately grasp the new historical position and deeply understand the new stage characteristics. The important discourse on urban work has been continuously enriched and developed. To build modern people-centered cities, it is necessary to actively adapt to major changes, proactively face the “two transitions,” and adhere to connotative development.

What is “connotative development”? Transforming urban development concepts to focus more on people-centered approaches; transforming urban development methods to focus more on intensive efficiency; transforming urban development drivers to focus more on distinctive development; transforming the focus of urban work to focus more on governance investment; transforming urban work methods to focus more on overall coordination—these “five transformations and five emphases” scientifically explain the essence of developing modern people-centered cities.

How to build modern people-centered cities? The Central Urban Work Conference held in 2025 provided a clear “roadmap” and “construction plan,” addressing both “how to view” and “how to act,” with the key being to implement effectively.

Base efforts on China’s national conditions and uphold Chinese characteristics. From “forging a path of urban development with Chinese characteristics” to “forging a new path of urban modernization with Chinese characteristics,” what remains unchanged is “Chinese characteristics.” This is the direction of China’s urban development and a vivid reflection of the “two integrations” in urban work. While our urban construction certainly needs to draw on beneficial foreign experience, we must not discard China’s excellent traditional culture. It has been emphasized: “We must strengthen architectural design management to make China’s urban architecture better reflect Chinese aesthetics and contemporary trends.”

Grasp scientific methods and adhere to local conditions. China has over 690 cities, with vastly different natural resources, diverse factor endowments, and distinct cultural characteristics. Only by deeply cultivating their respective advantages and finding their positioning through differentiation can they nurture seeds in suitable soil and transform resource advantages into development advantages. During work in Zhejiang, a significant amount of time was spent conducting in-depth research and inspections across the province, with foresight and meticulous consideration, clarifying ideas, pointing the direction, and outlining the blueprint for Zhejiang’s advancement of new-type urbanization.

Respect objective laws and adhere to seeking truth from

Xiongan New Area

Xiongan New Area is a large-scale national development zone established by China in 2017, located southwest of Beijing in Hebei Province. It was conceived as a strategic project to relieve pressure on the capital, promote regional integration, and serve as a model for modern urban planning and innovation-driven growth. The area is planned to eventually house key administrative, educational, and research functions relocated from Beijing.

Hebei

Hebei is a northern Chinese province that surrounds the national capital, Beijing, and the municipality of Tianjin. Historically, it was part of the ancient heartland of Chinese civilization and contains significant sections of the Great Wall, which was built and reinforced over centuries to defend against northern invasions. The province is also home to Chengde Mountain Resort, a UNESCO World Heritage site built in the 18th century as a summer retreat for Qing dynasty emperors.

Beijing

Beijing is the capital of China and a major historical and cultural center, with a history spanning over 3,000 years. It served as the seat of imperial power during the Ming and Qing dynasties, famously housing the Forbidden City. Today, it is a modern global metropolis that preserves iconic ancient sites like the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven.

Shanghai

Shanghai is a major global metropolis and financial hub on China’s east coast, which grew from a modest fishing village into a treaty port opened to foreign trade after the First Opium War in the mid-19th century. Its iconic skyline, symbolized by the Pudong district’s skyscrapers like the Oriental Pearl Tower, reflects its rapid modern development, while areas such as the Bund preserve historical colonial-era architecture from its international settlement past. Today, it stands as a dynamic center of commerce, culture, and innovation, blending its rich history with cutting-edge modernity.

Liaoning

Liaoning is a coastal province in northeastern China, historically significant as part of ancient Manchuria and the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty. It is home to key cultural sites like the Shenyang Imperial Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site that served as the early capital of the Qing Dynasty. The province also played a central role in China’s early 20th-century industrialization and witnessed pivotal events such as the Mukden Incident, which preceded the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is a coastal province in eastern China, historically renowned as a center of culture, commerce, and silk production since ancient times. It is home to significant cultural sites like the West Lake in Hangzhou, a UNESCO World Heritage site celebrated for its classical gardens and temples, and the ancient water towns such as Wuzhen. The province has a profound intellectual history, being a key area for the development of Neo-Confucianism and the birthplace of many notable scholars and artists throughout China’s dynastic past.