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When it comes to the building of cities of the future, all eyes these days, not surprisingly, are on China. 

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And one symbol of China's extraordinary growth isn't Beijing; 140 kilometers southeast -- 

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just by high-speed train -- 30 minutes, Tianjin. Its growth far outstrips the national average, the middle of a spectacular upgrade.

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Tianjin, you get three cities for the price of one. In Binhai New Area, there's the development that's driving the whole region's economy. 

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There [are] three cores, each representing some of China's most dynamic sectors: technology, industry, and tourism. 

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Not surprisingly with such growth, it's our "Future City."

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Every city has its shape and size. Here in Tianjin, both are changing. Big, bold construction projects are underway.  

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And some, like Binhai New Area, are up to 50 kilometers from the rest of the city. This is much more than a city suburb. 

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It's one of many new dots on the map that surround traditional Tianjin. Eventually, high-speed rail will join these dots.

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Nothing really prepares you for the size and scale of the construction underway here. 

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An hour from Tianjin proper, and they're building up a storm. 

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Binhai includes Yujiapu, a brand-new financial district that will serve the city.

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Yujiapu covers 3.86 square kilometers. It will provide modern financial services to not only Tianjin, but also the whole of Northern China.

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Last year, Tianjin's economy grew by 17 percent. For Binhai, the figure was as high as 25 percent. 

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All the while, Beijing has now set the national growth target at a mere seven percent.

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If the central government's idea is for more modest growth, that's a forlorn hope, certainly here in Greater Tianjin. 

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Behind me they're constructing Yujiapu. The ambition is it competes with Shanghai and Hong Kong.

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It's all part of China's wider ambition to draw more people into its cities, an ambition that will see 50,000 skyscrapers built in the next 15 years.

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I think I'm lucky. It's my destiny to work in design and to plan this area. 

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Binhai will become the window of Northern China's open and reformed policy towards the world.

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We're putting up 122 high buildings here. By early 2015, companies, bankers and financial agencies can start working in these buildings. 

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And by 2020, everything will be complete. I have to admit that our construction speed at Yujiapu has been much faster than normal speed.

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In Tianjin, the old is giving way to the new. The ancient traditions are seeking their modern-day incarnations. 

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The established ways of structuring cities are being tested. A single urban core is no longer the only way to map a city. 

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In China, the need to modernize cities is urgent. Tianjin's urban planning is giving us a glimpse into the future.