Beijing's Pinggu showcases logistics, farm tech, tourism at CIFTIS

Beijing's Pinggu District showcased its progress under the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector at a press conference during the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) on Sept. 9.

Local officials brief the media on Pinggu's development at a press conference during the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, Sept. 9, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn]

Beijing was designated an Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector by the State Council in 2020. The initiative allows the city to pilot easier foreign access to its services industries, and covers all of its districts, including Pinggu.

The event highlighted Pinggu's progress in three key areas: the Jingping Comprehensive Logistics Hub, Pinggu Agricultural Zhongguancun and rural leisure tourism. Officials said the district is developing distinctive models for agricultural technology, international land ports and integrated rural tourism.

Zhang Jiao, deputy mayor of Mafang town, said 15 industrial projects have been completed at the Jingping Comprehensive Logistics Hub, including facilities run by JD.com, GLP and Cainiao. The hub has 2.59 million square meters of high-standard warehousing, of which 1.95 million square meters are in operation.

Work on the hub's rail expansion is moving quickly, Zhang said, with new north and south yards due for completion this year. Once all three yards are operational, the railway will have an annual loading capacity of 13 million tons. The hub has attracted 33 new supply chain companies this year, bringing the total based there to 81, and has run 42 international freight trains.

Zhang said the hub will continue to step up investment promotion, speed up project delivery and deepen its industrial ecosystem. It aims to build a new development pattern for the logistics hub economy — where corridors drive logistics, logistics drives commerce and commerce drives industry — and to develop a high-quality national logistics hub built around a land port.

Zhu Yajing, deputy director of the management committee of Pinggu Agricultural Zhongguancun, said the zone has made breakthroughs in precision breeding of laying hens, new corn breeding techniques and gene-edited pigs with 100% resistance to blue ear disease.

Its National Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Port is expected to eventually accommodate 13,000 students and 3,000 research staff. The zone already hosts 152 Ph.D.-led farms and 32 science and technology backyards, and has attracted 13 academicians and 530 doctoral researchers. More than 200 agriculture-related companies have moved in, and a venture capital fund of 500 million yuan ($74.5 million) has been set up.

Zhu said the zone will accelerate construction of the Innovation Port campus and support the establishment of 11 national key laboratories from China Agricultural University. It will strengthen its technology transfer wing and smart manufacturing wing, expand into new areas such as food for special medical purposes, and work toward designation as a national agricultural high-tech industry demonstration zone. It will also host the 2026 World Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Conference from Sept. 17 to 19.

Yuan Haoyu, deputy director of the district's culture and tourism bureau, said Pinggu has created new cultural tourism attractions. The district has developed two signature arts brands — the Huangsongyu Land Art Festival and Nanshan Art Season, the latter named a national model case by the culture and tourism authorities. Pinggu has also carried out an upgrade of Jinhai Lake and hosted signature events such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Triathlon.

Pinggu Agricultural Zhongguancun booth at the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, Sept. 9, 2026. [Photo/China.org.cn]

Drawing on the legacy of the World Leisure Congress and the international facilities at Jinhai Lake, Pinggu is expanding multilingual guide services and end-to-end services for overseas visitors, and developing premium inbound tour routes aimed at foreign markets.

Yuan added that Pinggu will continue to work with art schools including the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts to promote art-making in rural areas, building a distinctive model for using the arts to drive rural revitalization. The district will also upgrade Jinhai Lake's international tourism facilities and use CIFTIS to connect with resources abroad.