Solar shelters shrubs to stunt Inner Mongolia's shifting sands
Integrated soil restoration pilot project gains ground in China's rugged north
Editor's note: This year marks the 20th anniversary of President Xi Jinping's proposal of the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets".To mark the occasion, China Daily is publishing a series of stories on how resources such as mountains, rivers, lakes, forests and farms are being transformed into priceless gifts.
New life has been breathed into a patch of once ravaged and desertified grassland in northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, thanks to a biological restoration project integrating the installation of solar panels and the planting of desert-hardy vegetation underneath.
The 700-hectare site in Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner was chosen for the project because of its vast tracts of windswept, uninhabited land with some of the highest solar radiation levels in northern China, and its relative closeness to the industrial hubs of Baotou and Hohhot, which have a high demand for clean energy.
The solar panels, which cover an area more than twice the size of New York's Central Park, do more than generate electricity; they also serve as protectors of the recovering grassland below.
For decades, northern China has tried to fight back against the sands of desertification. Drawing on the collective wisdom of experts, enterprises and farmers, Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner has adopted an innovative approach, sowing grass seeds beneath photovoltaic installations to revive degraded grasslands.
As the grasslands bounce back, related industries are emerging and expanding around them.
