Beijing relocates 6,000 students

Beijing, Nov 25: China's capital Beijing has relocated more than 6,000 college students to suburban campuses amid a regional integration scheme which restricts the size of schools in the centre of the city.

The students, mostly undergraduates, are from Beijing City University, Beijing Technology and Business University and Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

They were moved to campuses in Daxing, Shunyi and Fangshan, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education.

The integration of Beijing and neighboring province Hebei and port city Tianjin focuses on stripping away Beijing's "non-capital functions," such as manufacturing, logistics services, wholesale markets, some schools and hospitals and non-essential government bodies, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The capital is clearing many of its business sectors from the six districts that constitute downtown Beijing, where quality of life has been compromised by air pollution, traffic congestion and dwindling resources. The six districts contain 59 per cent of Beijing's total population and make up 70 per cent of its economic output.

PTI