A commencement ceremony for the construction of the China University of Geosciences (Beijing)'s new campus in Xiong'an New Area, North China's Hebei province is held on Tuesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Four universities in Beijing have started constructing their campuses in Xiong'an New Area, North China's Hebei province after their groundbreaking ceremonies on Tuesday, marking the relocation of the first batch of universities from Beijing to the new area.

The universities are Beijing Jiaotong University, the University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing Forestry University and the China University of Geosciences (Beijing).

All of the four universities are directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education and are on the list of the country's "Double First-Class" universities and colleges - namely world-class universities and first-class disciplines.

The construction of these four university campuses in Xiong'an symbolized an important achievement in promoting the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the relocation of non-capital functions from Beijing to Xiong'an.

The campuses will provide high-level scientific and technological talent support for the high-standard and high-quality development of the new area, according to the area's administrative committee.