Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, is upgrading its hall of administrative affairs to become a service hall for the province's upcoming free trade zone.

The China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone won approval from the central government on Aug 31 and includes the Xi'an High-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Its service hall will be the first point of contact for anyone visiting the zone to take examinations, discuss approval matters or complete other formalities.

Covering an area of 4,000 square meters, the hall has 50 service windows that will be staffed by representatives of 19 different governmental departments.

The city government hopes that construction of the service hall will further promote commercial reform, streamline business processes and intensify reform of the administrative examination and approval system.