Traveling south along N1 Road in the Xiongdong area of Xiong'an New Area on August 23, a striking 100-meter tower shaped like a lotus seedpod comes into view. Beside the tower, a lush green hill stands out vividly against the clear blue sky, surrounded by greenery, a lake, and walking paths, forming an ecological landscape park.
Hidden beneath that hill lies the only comprehensive waste treatment facility in Xiong'an—Hebei Xiong'an Everbright Ecological Industrial Park. All types of daily waste generated in the new area are processed here, converted into electricity, heat, and building materials. Inside the park, there is no pungent odor—only the fresh scent of grass and lotus flowers. "Can you smell anything?" asked Zhang Shuo, deputy manager of the comprehensive department at Hebei Xiong'an Everbright Ecological Industrial Park Co., Ltd., with a smile.
The 500-mu industrial park employs an innovative "park above ground, factory below" model, placing solid waste treatment facilities 23 meters underground. The surface has been developed into an open ecological landscape park, with green space covering over 70% of the area. The uniquely designed 100-meter tower is actually the facility's chimney. The park's daily waste processing capacity reaches 3,160 tons, covering five categories including household waste, food waste, sludge, and medical waste.
Inside the central control hall, a wall-sized digital screen displays dozens of real-time surveillance feeds. "Steam generated from waste incineration drives turbine generators, with electricity used for the park's own operations and surplus fed into the national grid," Zhang explained. The park generates approximately 200 million kWh annually, enough to meet the electricity needs of about 200,000 households. On the unloading platform, located 8 meters underground, rows of doors line up as garbage trucks reverse into transition bays. "The transition bays are our original design, achieving complete odor containment," Zhang said. The entire process remains sealed from the outside environment.
Red numbers on the control hall's digital screen show the waste storage area at 33.8 degrees Celsius, with a pressure difference of -19 pascals from atmospheric pressure. "That's the secret to eliminating odors," Zhang revealed. Fans continuously draw air from the waste storage area into the incinerator as combustion air, keeping the internal pressure lower than outside. Odors naturally flow inward rather than escaping—simultaneously preventing smells and meeting combustion needs.
Returning from the underground waste plant to the surface, visitors see an ecological landscape with hills and water reflecting each other, while beneath their feet operates the "city's stomach." Zhang noted that this innovative model not only saves land but transforms waste from a costly burden into a profitable resource. Waste-to-energy generation, residual heat heating, slag-based building materials, and biodiesel from oils—each component contributes to the new area's green development.
Since the park began operations in June 2023, it has processed 1.5774 million tons of various wastes, generated 556 million kWh of electricity, and achieved a solid waste resource utilization rate exceeding 90%. The above-ground ecological park and waste-free science education base have hosted over 370 educational and technical exchange events with more than 7,000 participants, directly supporting Xiong'an's ecological civilization construction and "waste-free city" promotion efforts.