City turns desert into gold mine

Tourists ride camels at the Shapotou scenic area in Zhongwei, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, on Oct 1. [MAO ZHU/XINHUA]

YINCHUAN — As a child, Wang Li thought of the desert as a nuisance.

"When sandstorms came, dust would fill the air, making it difficult for me to breathe, and trash and tree branches would fly into the sky," she said.

Little did the 34-year-old know that one day, after she had moved away, she would return to her hometown of Zhongwei in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region to work in that same desert.

Located on the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, Zhongwei used to be severely affected by sandstorms. The sand once expanded to just 5 kilometers from the city, invading farmlands and burying irrigation canals.

To ensure the safe operation of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway, China's first desert railway, the people of Zhongwei began to combat desertification in the 1950s by making straw checkerboards to contain the sand.

Thanks to their innovative approach to afforestation, the Tengger Desert has been pushed back by 25 km, ensuring the stable operation of the railway.

As the threat of the desert gradually receded, Zhongwei began to explore ways to transition from sand control to sand utilization.

The Shapotou scenic area, named after its sand dunes that once towered more than 100 meters, is a place where desert, mountain and oasis landscapes converge with the Yellow River. It now offers tourist activities such as sand surfing and desert racing, providing locals and tourists alike with unique experiences.

In 2012, after earning a degree in hotel management, Wang worked in the regional capital of Yinchuan before returning to Zhongwei. She then worked in Shapotou as a tour guide. She tells tourists stories of Zhongwei's desert control efforts and helps them immerse themselves in the joys of sand. She has also witnessed how the desert economy has been injecting impetus into the high-quality development of the city. "As I learned more about the desert, my love for it deepened," she said.

As the city's tourism industry transitions from catering to sightseeing tourists to welcoming holidaymakers, it has developed a host of immersive vacation products, such as stargazing-themed desert hotels.

"The boom in desert tourism has also given rise to new professions such as desert barista, stargazing guide and desert DJ, driving local employment and income growth for young people. To date, 70,000 people in Zhongwei have benefited financially from the tourism boom," said Lyu Yongjun, director of Zhongwei's tourism, culture, sports, broadcasting and TV bureau.

As of Oct 7, Zhongwei had handled over 17 million tourist visits this year, with total tourist expenditure exceeding 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).

Workers tend trees at a photovoltaic farm in Wuwei, Gansu province, in June last year. [MA XIPING/XINHUA]

"In the past, people used to feel anxious when talking about the desert. But now, the desert has become a desirable destination for many, and turned into our golden bank," Wang said.

The city has also coordinated the development of photovoltaic power generation and ecological restoration.

Zhongwei is not alone in promoting the development of the clean energy industry by utilizing the advantages of the desert in Northwest China.

The city of Wuwei in Gansu province, located near the Tengger Desert, was once plagued by sand hazards. After success in its sand control work, the local government seized the advantages of long sunshine and abundant solar energy to develop a local photovoltaic industry.

In October 2021, Wuwei implemented a 500,000-kilowatt photovoltaic demonstration project in the desert. "We have made technological innovations in traditional photovoltaic power generation, extending the span of photovoltaic panels to 33 meters and increasing the height to 4 meters. By using double-sided photovoltaic panels, power generation efficiency has increased by 8 percent to 15 percent," said Yin Heping, who works at Elion Resources Group, a leading green industry enterprise in China.

Li Zhenhai, deputy director of the development and reform commission of Wuwei, said that each year, the project can save 270,000 metric tons of standard coal, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 710,000 tons, and treat over 1,333 hectares of desert.

Xinhua