Western China - news and development

[JSCh]

Border guards in NW China turn gardeners on snow-covered plateau
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/11/11 18:48:40

Chinese soldiers in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have successfully grown vegetables on the 4,050-meter-high plateau, despite having only three hours of sunshine each day. The soldiers are from a border defense troop stationed between the snowy mountains in Xinjiang's Kashi. Screenshot of video by People's Daily on Sina Weibo.

Chinese soldiers in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have successfully grown vegetables on the 4,050-meter-high plateau, despite having only three hours of sunshine each day.

The soldiers are from a border defense troop stationed between the snowy mountains in Xinjiang's Kashi.

Despite the lack of sunshine and cold weather, they set up greenhouses covered with thick cotton quilts, and managed to grow vegetables such as green beans, eggplants and mushrooms, all of which require high temperatures, humidity and sunshine. They have even been able to raise ducks.

To ensure a suitable temperature for the vegetables, they burn coal to heat up the greenhouse once every hour, the soldiers explained.

The output can basically meet the daily needs of the troop, who can then save up to buy more non-staple foodstuff.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1327626226471677952

M. Azeem Khan @mazeemkhan74

XINJIANG Today OUT OF ABSOLUTE POVERTY, historic day for all ethnic group's in XJ, My hometown Shache County (Yarkan) is also one of the last ten poverty-stricken areas which is officially a poverty less county now, thanks CPC for truly serving the people.

 

[JSCh]

Tibet sets up emergency rescue operations
By Palden Nyima and Daqiong in Lhasa | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2020-11-17 17:48

A central command center for rescues was established on Monday in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, with eight satellite stations, marking the first professional emergency rescue operation in the region.

Three stations are located in Lhasa, with one each in Nagchu, Nyingchi, Lhokha, Chamdo, Shigatse, Ngari prefecture, and three in Lhasa.

Their resources include 112 vehicles, four speedboats, seven helicopters, two fixed-wing aircraft and more than 200 workers prepared to undertake rescues in the region.

Dawa Norbu, an official in the region's emergency management department, said the region would make more efforts in the near future to improve things further.

"We will try to guide the work to a higher level and supervise staff to perform legally in disaster relief, medical aid and emergency rescue," Dawa Norbu said.

Ma Jun, director of the Tibet Emergency Rescue Center, said the region was an attractive place for outdoor sports, such as climbing and hiking, and that it had seen increasing numbers of tourists and climbers getting stranded in remote areas.

"When people were stranded in connection with climbing without proper registration, police officers and the firefighters have been called to perform all sorts of rescue relief work," Ma said.

"With the establishment of the center, we will undertake various emergency duties from now on and be scientific when carrying out rescues."

 

[TaiShang]

Tibet builds world's highest 220-kV substation - China.org.cn

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region completed the trial of a 220-kilovolt power substation at an altitude of 4,688 meters on Monday.

The station, located in Saga County, Xigaze, was constructed following a challenging high-altitude power transmission and transformation project across Tibet's Ngari Prefecture and the middle part of the region, the world's highest power structure of its kind.

The project, with a total investment of 7.4 billion yuan (about 1.12 billion U.S. dollars), plans to build six substations, all above 4,000 meters above sea level. The total length of the transmission lines will reach 1,689 kilometers across ten counties and two prefecture-level cities.

Three of the substations have been completed since the construction began in September 2019, and the project will start operation in 2021, enabling safe and stable electricity use for nearly 380,000 residents along the lines.

After completion, the project will facilitate the main electric grid in Tibet to cover 74 counties, and 97 percent of the regional population will benefit by then, said Losang Dawa, deputy commander of the project.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1329325217592688641

 

[shi12jun]

The Belt and Road Initiative has promoted the sustainable and rapid development of western China. The major railway inland ports in the west develop rapidly

 

[JSCh]

#ProsperityOnthePlateau: All is "well" in Tibet thanks to safe water project
Nov 30, 2020
New China TV

All is WELL! Thanks to a safe water project in #Tibet, clean drinking water has become a reality for around two mln farmers and herders on the "Roof of the World" #ProsperityOnthePlateau xhne.ws/33CRO

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1347084684287647744

People's Daily, China @PDChina
China state-affiliated media

The Postal Aviation Flight CF9051 landed at Xining Caojiapu International Airport in NW China's Qinghai Province on Jan 6, marking the official opening of the largest all freight air route in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.



3:36 PM · Jan 7, 2021

 

[TaiShang]

http://t.m.china.org.cn/convert/c_xhG3s8RL.html

The road network in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region now stretches over 117,000 km, up 50 percent from the end of 2015, as the region continues to see improving connectivity.

The mileage of the rail network in the region has reached 954 km, according to data released at the ongoing fourth session of the 11th People's Congress of the region.

Transportation has long been a bottleneck inhibiting Tibet's development, as the region is situated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with complex geographical conditions for road construction and limited technology and funds.

Since late 2012, China has been strengthening its infrastructure investment in Tibet. So far, roads have connected 95 percent of the township-level administrations and 75 percent of the incorporated villages in the region.

As for air transportation, Tibet has launched a total of 130 air routes, with 61 cities connected by flights. The number of passenger trips made through these airports reached nearly 5.18 million in 2020.

 

[JSCh]

Major hydropower station begins water storage in Tibet
Feb 1, 2021
CGTN

For more: https://www.cgtn.com/video

The Suwalong #Hydropower Station, the first large-scale hydropower plant with a designed capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts, began storing water on January 31, 2021, in southwest #China's #Tibet Autonomous Region. The plant is one of the major projects to send electricity from the west to eastern areas in China and is expected to start operations in the second half of 2021.

 

[TaiShang]

Xinjiang sets 6% strong GDP target for next five years

By Global TimesPublished: Feb 01, 2021 12:56 PM

Girls display local specialities during a live-streaming activity at a jade trading center in Hotan, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 27, 2020. Thanks to strenuous efforts from all sides, major progress has been achieved in Xinjiang.

Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Monday set the region’s average annual GDP growth target for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) above 6%, with per capita disposable income growing at the same rate, according to local government.

During the region’s version of the two sessions (akin to a session of parliament), the local government also vowed to create an average of 460,000 new urban jobs each year over the next five years, with the urban unemployment rate being controlled within 5.5 percent, local government’s news office said on its official Sina Weibo account on Monday, citing a government work report.

Xinjiang aims to step up efforts to develop its tourism sector to boost economic growth in 2021, hoping to welcome 2 million visitors this year and striving to accept home and foreign travelers of over 4 million by 2025, according to the report.

By the end of 14th Five-Year Plan period, permanent basic farm land will be kept above 41 million mu (2.73 million hectares) across the region (excluding Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), and the grain output capacity to achieve 32 billion jin (16 billion kilograms), it said.

Xinjiang will aim to maintain its cotton production capacity stable at around 5 million tons, the output of fruits at around 12 million tons and output of animal farming exceeding 110 billion yuan ($17.03 billion), it continued.

In 2020, the per capita disposable income across urban areas of Xinjiang stood at 34,838 yuan, posting an average annual growth of 5.8 percent during the past five years. That in rural areas in Xinjiang was 14,056 yuan, up about 8.3 percent each year over the same period.

According to the report, over 70 percent of local government’s fiscal payment was used improving livelihoods during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20). The construction of new health centers in villages and townships in Xinjiang has reached 100 percent and has effectively eased previous pressure on medical access for complex and high expense treatments.

Meanwhile, the region’s poverty alleviation taskforce achieved several notable milestones over the past five years. By the end of 2020, a total of 3.07 million improvised people under current standards in Xinjiang have all shaken poverty, with all of the 35 poor counties having been lifted out poverty.

 

[Peace be there]

I thought that China would have managed this a little better.
Wonder when China is improving Xinjiang's outbound grid transmission.

------------------------
Xinjiang's new energy plants struggle to survive winter
English.news.cn | 2015-12-19 10:54:18 | Editor: huaxia

URUMQI, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Many wind farms and solar plants in far west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region may not survive this year's harsh winter as they have been suspended due to overcapacity.

Electricity demand drops during the colder months of the year as people turn off their air conditioning units in favor of the government managed, and coal-powered winter heating. Having a large number of alternate energy plants, Xinjiang lacks sufficient infrastructure to transfer power out of the region. As a result, the regional State Grid has ordered that all, bar a few, cease operation and hibernate for the winter.

"The whole year's investment almost down the drain," said Cui Wei, a sales manager of a wind farm affiliated to Beijing-based Goldwind Science and Technology Co., one of China's wind turbine manufacturing giants.

The company built a 7.5 billion yuan (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) wind farm with power capacity of 1.5 million kilowatt-hours in Xinjiang, however, 40 percent of the plant has been temporarily shut and the whole plant will suspend business by the month end, Cui said.

According to Yang Yongli of the State Grid's Xinjiang branch, in winter the region's power consumption is almost half of the summer peak as many manufacturers and construction sites halt work when the cold front arrives.

New energy's contribution to the State Grid is limited to below 300,000 kilowatt-hours to make way for the power generated by coal-power plants, while the total installed capacity in the region stands at 15 million kilowatt-hours, the branch said.

The unstable nature of solar and wind power generation means, at the current time, it is not an appropriate power source for the winter heating. As such, when the winter winds blow into the westerly region, many thermal power stations begin to warm up, bringing with them air pollution, the State Grid said.

Heavy smog in winter is a nightmare for Urumqi, the regional capital, grounding flights, closing roads and forcing residents to stay indoors.

A new trading system, which is unique to Xinjiang, is being tested by the region's electricity authority as a way to shift power generation from thermal plants to new energy.

Instead of transmitting electricity to the overloaded state grid, new energy stations supply power directly to factories that have been ordered to shut down their own power plants. The authority pays a subsidy of 0.2 yuan for every kilowatt-hour those factories buy from new energy plants.

So far 55 wind farms and 36 solar plants with a total capacity of 5.35 million kilowatt-hours have joined the deal, and another 8.43 million kilowatt-hours have begun to be added to the trading list starting from late November, said Gong Wenjun of the regional power exchange center.

Yet, a lot of new energy companies are still waiting to be included in the scheme, with many citing the lack of infrastructure as the largest obstacle.

Xu Xiaofeng, an operation director of a new energy plant, said the company's 50,000 kwh wind farm in the suburban district of Dabancheng in Urumqi has sold nearly 7 million kilowatt-hours via the trading scheme this year, but its other wind and solar plants, which boast 110,000-kwh-capacity, have been left idle.

Industry insiders said the new trading system could recoup some of the losses for new energy companies, but the only real solution is to improve the region's outbound grid transmission.

Xinjiang has transferred 53.1 billion kilowatt-hours of power out of the region since 2010, equivalent to coal delivery of 16.5 million tonnes. New energy accounts for 6.1 billion kilowatt-hours, or about 11 percent of the total delivery.

The regional government plans to add another four outbound channels, pushing the total delivery capacity to 50 million kilowatt-hours by 2020.

"Xinjiang's winter wind and solar resources have been wasted for nothing," said Cui, whose company has suffered a loss of nearly 500 million yuan this year alone. "The situation should take a turn for the better next year."

 

[TaiShang]

I thought that China would have managed this a little better.
Wonder when China is improving Xinjiang's outbound grid transmission.

------------------------
Xinjiang's new energy plants struggle to survive winter
English.news.cn | 2015-12-19 10:54:18 | Editor: huaxia

URUMQI, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Many wind farms and solar plants in far west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region may not survive this year's harsh winter as they have been suspended due to overcapacity.

Electricity demand drops during the colder months of the year as people turn off their air conditioning units in favor of the government managed, and coal-powered winter heating. Having a large number of alternate energy plants, Xinjiang lacks sufficient infrastructure to transfer power out of the region. As a result, the regional State Grid has ordered that all, bar a few, cease operation and hibernate for the winter.

"The whole year's investment almost down the drain," said Cui Wei, a sales manager of a wind farm affiliated to Beijing-based Goldwind Science and Technology Co., one of China's wind turbine manufacturing giants.

The company built a 7.5 billion yuan (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) wind farm with power capacity of 1.5 million kilowatt-hours in Xinjiang, however, 40 percent of the plant has been temporarily shut and the whole plant will suspend business by the month end, Cui said.

According to Yang Yongli of the State Grid's Xinjiang branch, in winter the region's power consumption is almost half of the summer peak as many manufacturers and construction sites halt work when the cold front arrives.

New energy's contribution to the State Grid is limited to below 300,000 kilowatt-hours to make way for the power generated by coal-power plants, while the total installed capacity in the region stands at 15 million kilowatt-hours, the branch said.

The unstable nature of solar and wind power generation means, at the current time, it is not an appropriate power source for the winter heating. As such, when the winter winds blow into the westerly region, many thermal power stations begin to warm up, bringing with them air pollution, the State Grid said.

Heavy smog in winter is a nightmare for Urumqi, the regional capital, grounding flights, closing roads and forcing residents to stay indoors.

A new trading system, which is unique to Xinjiang, is being tested by the region's electricity authority as a way to shift power generation from thermal plants to new energy.

Instead of transmitting electricity to the overloaded state grid, new energy stations supply power directly to factories that have been ordered to shut down their own power plants. The authority pays a subsidy of 0.2 yuan for every kilowatt-hour those factories buy from new energy plants.

So far 55 wind farms and 36 solar plants with a total capacity of 5.35 million kilowatt-hours have joined the deal, and another 8.43 million kilowatt-hours have begun to be added to the trading list starting from late November, said Gong Wenjun of the regional power exchange center.

Yet, a lot of new energy companies are still waiting to be included in the scheme, with many citing the lack of infrastructure as the largest obstacle.

Xu Xiaofeng, an operation director of a new energy plant, said the company's 50,000 kwh wind farm in the suburban district of Dabancheng in Urumqi has sold nearly 7 million kilowatt-hours via the trading scheme this year, but its other wind and solar plants, which boast 110,000-kwh-capacity, have been left idle.

Industry insiders said the new trading system could recoup some of the losses for new energy companies, but the only real solution is to improve the region's outbound grid transmission.

Xinjiang has transferred 53.1 billion kilowatt-hours of power out of the region since 2010, equivalent to coal delivery of 16.5 million tonnes. New energy accounts for 6.1 billion kilowatt-hours, or about 11 percent of the total delivery.

The regional government plans to add another four outbound channels, pushing the total delivery capacity to 50 million kilowatt-hours by 2020.

"Xinjiang's winter wind and solar resources have been wasted for nothing," said Cui, whose company has suffered a loss of nearly 500 million yuan this year alone. "The situation should take a turn for the better next year."

Need more storage capacity. Also, if a better nationwide grid is established, the excess could be transmited to the demand areas.

But, it is a very expensive investment. Investors are willing to invest in generation, but less in very expensive (and challenging due to the fact that the grid has to deal with land rights) grid networks.

Still, China is making progress.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1356573079288180739

 

[JSCh]

Livestreaming e-commerce helps promote naan industry in China's Xinjiang
Feb 2, 2021
New China TV

Naan is a traditional food among ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang. And thanks to livestreaming, employees at a naan production base are spreading the word of their delicious delicacy worldwide.