XINING, July 16 (Xinhua) — Standing on the coronary heart of a 609-sq-km photovoltaic park situated within the Talatan Gobi Desert in Gonghe County, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, China Arab TV correspondent Ayoub Bechrouri enthusiastically started recording his report together with his smartphone.
Behind him stretches a charming “blue sea” — an infinite expanse of photovoltaic panels protecting the panorama. Beneath these gleaming photo voltaic arrays, verdant grasslands thrive the place flocks of sheep graze contentedly, showcasing the right concord between renewable power and sustainable agriculture.
“This is a good example of green energy development,” Bechrouri stated. “I hope to see China-Arab collaboration bring Chinese technologies to Arab countries.”
Hailing from Morocco, Bechrouri was a part of a delegation of round 30 worldwide journalists from international locations together with the United States, Germany, Japan and Spain on a three-day tour of Qinghai organized by China’s State Council Information Office. The media delegation skilled firsthand how this northwestern province is pioneering China’s ecological civilization drive by way of concrete inexperienced growth initiatives.
ECO-FRIENDLY ENERGY
“In a sunny country like Spain, people have been paying attention to the ecological impact of the construction of large photovoltaic power stations,” stated Alvaro Alfaro Ruiz-Alberdi, a journalist on the Spanish news company Agencia EFE. “I find it interesting to examine how Qinghai maintains the balance between this energy development and environmental protection.”
The Spanish correspondent discovered the reply at this very photovoltaic park, one of many highest-capacity solar energy amenities globally, in Gonghe.
The park’s progressive eco-industrial mannequin — energy technology atop photo voltaic panels, grass cultivation between panels, and sheep grazing beneath them — has restored vegetation protection to 80 % in an space that was as soon as a dust-blown stretch of the Gobi Desert, in response to Wang Anwei, director of the power bureau of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Gonghe.
This agrivoltaic mannequin has additionally boosted revenue for livestock farming, producing over 10,000 yuan (about 1,398 U.S. {dollars}) per mu (about 0.07 hectares), and has helped elevate 173 neighboring villages out of poverty.
“Now my flock has grown to about 800 sheep, and my income from grazing alone has doubled compared to before,” stated Zhao Guofu, a herder who started grazing his sheep right here six years in the past.
By the top of 2024, the full funding in clear power within the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture reached 16.18 billion yuan, with annual clear power energy technology amounting to 46.32 billion kWh. Notably, photovoltaic energy technology was about 17.9 billion kWh, representing a year-on-year improve of 16.21 %.
IMPROVED BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION
In the summer time, Qinghai Lake, situated within the northeastern a part of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, shimmers with azure waves, teeming with guests. Brown-headed gulls wheel above the water floor, whereas huge colleges of the lake’s distinctive species, bare carp, which is assessed as susceptible on the China Species Red List, glide beneath.
“The naked carp constitutes over 90 percent of the lake’s total fish population and serves as the primary prey for birds such as brown-headed gulls. This species plays a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem and biodiversity of the Qinghai Lake basin,” stated Wang Shuning, with the safety and utilization administration of the Qinghai Lake scenic space.
Due to overfishing and environmental deterioration, the inhabitants of bare carp sharply declined within the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies. In order to guard the species and restore the Qinghai Lake atmosphere, Qinghai banned bare carp fishing on the lake in 2001, following a sequence of short-term prohibitions from the Eighties onward.
Between 2002 and 2023, the biomass of bare carp elevated almost 46-fold. Additionally, as the one habitat of Przewalski’s gazelles, an endangered antelope species, the Qinghai Lake basin has seen the full variety of the species get well from fewer than 300 in the beginning of conservation efforts to roughly 3,400 at present. This outstanding progress displays the concerted conservation efforts by each the Chinese authorities and native communities.
The province has adopted a holistic strategy to the safety and systematic governance of the symbiotic ecosystem of “water-grass-fish-birds-animals” within the Qinghai Lake basin. It has established monitoring platforms for ecological sensing and hydrological early warning, and has steadily arrange over 300 ecological monitoring websites.
Two years in the past, native resident Dorje Tsomo turned an ecological ranger on the Qinghai Lake scenic space. On obligation, she at all times carries a digital camera to doc environmental adjustments across the lake and a discipline guide compiling 98 species of waterbirds, which serves as her fixed reference for studying their distinctive options, distributions and conservation statuses.
“We also use a WeChat mini-program to document patrol routes, while nearby villagers promptly report injured birds. Together, we protect Qinghai Lake, the home we all share,” she stated.
According to Chen Dehui, deputy director of the safety and utilization administration of the Qinghai Lake scenic space, rising numbers of herders are voluntarily taking up new roles — as photographers capturing the lake’s pure magnificence and as interpreters in ecological teaching programs — diversifying their revenue sources whereas sharing within the rewards of conservation.
“Qinghai Lake’s ecological conservation is truly impressive,” stated Furuta Natsuya, a journalist with Japan’s Hokkaido Shimbun who visited Qinghai for the primary time. “Here, I witnessed a genuine model of human-nature coexistence and felt the profound connection between people and the natural world.”
ECOLOGY-ENRICHED PROSPERITY
In April this 12 months, Kanbula, situated in Jainca County of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, was formally designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark. The park spans roughly 3,149 sq. kilometers with placing fiery-red Danxia landforms, towering jagged peaks, hidden caves and emerald lakes.
“This world-class geological landmark not only enhances geo-conservation efforts, but also accelerates local infrastructure development, drawing global visitors to fuel cultural tourism revenues in the area,” stated Hou Guangliang, a professor at Qinghai Normal University’s faculty of geographical sciences.
In latest years, Dekyi Village, which is close to the geopark, has develop into a dwelling instance of turning “ecological assets into economic gains.”
“Thanks to government-sponsored training programs, our family now runs a homestay and agritourism business,” native villager Jorgyi stated. “Last year, we earned over 70,000 yuan, and this year looks even more promising.”
The village receives over 200,000 annual guests, producing greater than 1 million yuan in collective and particular person dividends.
“Like many regions in Hokkaido facing population decline, I’m particularly interested in rural revitalization. I hope to gain firsthand insights into how Chinese grassroots communities have experienced poverty alleviation and the tangible outcomes of government initiatives,” stated Furuta.
Both China and Japan are actively exploring sustainable growth pathways, Furuta famous, including that the Qinghai go to gave him profound perception into how each international locations’ profitable practices in neighborhood governance, ecotourism and cultural integration advantage mutual studying.