A view of the Forbidden City from the hilltop of Jingshan Park in Beijing on Nov 21, 2016.[Photo/IC]

TRANSFORMATION AND INNOVATION

Beijing has also adopted a differentiated water and electricity price policy as another way to cut the population , imposing higher charges for factories dumping pollution while lowering those reducing emissions.

Water, gas, electricity and heating prices are also higher in the six core districts than in other districts.

The six core districts are home to 12.8 million residents, 294,000 more people than 2013. The central districts of Xicheng and Dongcheng saw negative growth, a decrease of 9,000 compared with 2013, according to official figures.

Over 1,300 manufacturing factories have been shut down in the past three years, and some traditional factories have started to transform.

Beijing No.7 Paper Mill originally opened in 1955 and has been shut down to soaring costs and intense competition. It is now being rebuilt as an innovation park aiming to nurture high-tech talent.

A regional plan on reform and innovation in accordance with Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration was rolled out this July to push forward the innovation-driven economy.

"Instead of relying on the household registration system to keep people from rushing in, we should rely more on industrial transformation to curb Beijing's population growth," said Zhao Hong, deputy dean at Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.