SHIJIAZHUANG -- The first land compensation funds were granted Saturday to a farmer who gave up his land for the Xiongan New Area.

The New Area, which covers Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei Province, is about 100 kilometers south of Beijing. It will facilitate the coordinated development of Beijing and the surrounding region.

A temporary administrative center will be built in Rongcheng. For the construction, about 1,000 mu (about 66.7 hectares) of land was taken from 240 farmer households.

The affected farmers can receive 1,500 yuan (about $231.6) per mu annually as land compensation, and another 1,500 yuan in compensation for agricultural losses.

Jiang Junming from Mazhuang Village was the first to sign a land contract with the local government. He received 4,147.5 yuan as compensation on Saturday.

"The amount is greater than what I can earn from crops on the land," he said. "I am proud as a native of Xiongan. Our lives will surely be better in the future."

The temporary administrative center will include the Party working committee of Xiongan, its management committee, offices of some enterprises in the new area, and serve other functions such as hosting receptions, conferences, and exhibitions.