state-level new area. In order to construct the city, 6000 workers and more than 3000 excavators were brought in to flatten hundreds of mountain tops, thereby making land which could be built upon. The area was formerly described as a ghost town, as it still houses far from the anticipated population. In 2017, city officials claimed that LNA has residents plus construction workers, though a journalist from The Guardian who visited the site suspected that these numbers were "wildly inflated" and asserted that large parts of the city remained vacant. By 2018 the population had reached 250,000 people, which still made the area one of the least densely populated New Areas in China. Originally it was planned for the area to have 600,000 inhabitants by 2020. The actual population by November 2020 was 465,000. Zones There are four functional zones: the 246-square-kilometer central development zone environs Zhongchuan International Airport (without airport controlled area) which includes industrial congregation zone, comprehensive service zone and airport tariff-free manufacturing and logistics zone; the 48-square-kilometer ecological leisure and business housing zone; 248-square-kilometer demonstration zone for developing barren wasteland and hills; 220-square-kilometer ecological demonstration zone of modern agriculture. Smart city LNA has been designated a smart city since 2017, primarily based on technology supplied by Huawei. Fire fighting, water management, healthcare and municipal administration are managed using 'smart' technology. Transportation Communication systems are the core of the development of Lanzhou New Area, owing to the differences with other Chinese new areas. The common model of Chinese new areas can be exemplified as a giant plain area which needs to be expanded. It is a spontaneous urbanization of the old main city area, and short distances between the new areas and their respective main cities are advantageous for the new areas' development. Lanzhou's peculiar topography led to Lanzhou New Area being located 30 kilometers away from its main city, and the linkage between the new and the old area is a crucial factor for its development. Railways The Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport Intercity Railway has an intermediate station for Lanzhou New Area. The Zhongwei–Lanzhou high-speed railway passes along the south part of the New Area. Construction of the Lanzhou Metro commenced in July 2012, and future lines are planned connecting the New Area to the old city. Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is being extended to become a giant air hub in the Western region, making it a potential center for