The future of blockchain smart cities is officially here. Last year, the Chinese government teamed up with the country’s largest companies to create a special economic zone and build a smart city. Not only are they using blockchain to improve social programs and infrastructure, but blockchain will be an integral part of China’s new bureaucratic center. In other words, blockchain is building China’s second capital.
China’s Blockchain Smart City
In 2017, the Chinese government founded the smart city Xiongan and designated it as a New Area. This means that it receives government funding and special economic benefits. The goal is to ease population problems in neighboring areas for government officials and civilians. Over time, Xiongan will become a hub for the nearby Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the nation’s capital and most populous region in Northern China.
In the meantime, Chinese officials have been working hard to make Xiongan a smart city, meaning an urban area that collects data to make everything—schools, transportation, government offices, resource conservation, social services, and more—as efficient as possible. The China Morning Post estimates that Xiongan will receive $380 billion in funding. This would make it the biggest public works project in Chinese history.
This smart city is under the direct control of the Central Committee of the Community Party of China. Therefore, the country’s top officials are seriously invested in this Chinese smart city’s development. Eventually, they’re planning to relocate government officials from crowded Beijing.
World’s Largest Insurer Creates Blockchain
Not only is President Xi Jinping, the most powerful man in China, invested in this smart city’s development but so is Ping An Insurance, the largest insurance company in the world. This week, Ping An released a White Paper on Smart Cities, specifically aimed at Xiongan.
In the White Paper, the insurance company explains how to implement blockchain to benefit the state, its residents, and its corporations. It also adds that AI (Artificial Intelligence), cloud storage, and big data will play a crucial role. Much of this will come down to storing data, which is one of blockchain’s biggest technological advantages.
AI adoption is growing on its own, too, as AI-backed cryptocurrencies like Endor Protocol (EDR) surge in popularity.
China’s biggest company, Alibaba, is also involved in developing this blockchain smart city. The co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Limited has proposed design plans for Xiongan. Alibaba is the world’s biggest e-commerce site, even bigger than Amazon.
Keep in mind that the Chinese government’s opinion of blockchain and Bitcoin (BTC) are unique. This blockchain smart city will look nothing like Akon’s crypto city, for instance.
Using Blockchain to Build Smart Cities
While the SEC is busy barring bitcoin ETFs, the Chinese government is building a smart city using blockchain. With blockchain, AI, and data storage, not to mention hundreds of billions of financing from China’s President and biggest companies, Xiongan is giving the term ‘smart city’ new meaning.
For now, we don’t know exactly what this blockchain smart city will look like. However, we do know that China is leading in blockchain adoption.
Additionally, China has already proven its ability to rapidly build successful Special Economic Zones. Just look at Shenzhen in Southern China: It grew from 30,000 in 1980 to 12.5 million in 2017. Today, Shenzhen is the ‘Silicon Valley of China’.
The northern city of Xiongan could become the model for how you can build a smart city with blockchain. Even in the U.S. today, we’re already seeing that blockchain is affecting everyone’s lives, from owning a hotel to stopping internet trolls.
