A future city in the making

"Actually I just came back from holiday days ago," said Shi, who spoke with a slight southern accent. "I can go home once every three months, and the company would cover my travel expenses."

Chen Jiaying is graduate student majoring in international journalism and communication at Tsinghua University, and is on a field survey tour with her classmates in Tianjin and North China's Hebei province in early November.

Chen Jiaying contributed to this story.