A Thirst for Change

By+Ma+Li

A mere decade ago， it was a dry and desolate land， home to waves of winddispersed dust causing desertification and widespread poverty. Fast-forward 10 years， Zhongwei and its tourist attraction Shapotou have suddenly become the recipient of newfound fame owing to its prominent inclusion on the TV show Where Are We Going， Dad？

Located at the meeting point of Ningxia， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Gansu Province and on the southeastern edge of Tengger Desert， Zhongwei was once a stop on the ancient Silk Road.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Zhongwei City， which was approved by the State Council to be upgraded from a county to a prefecturelevel city on April 28， 2004， in an effort to strengthen desertification control and to promote local economic development. Within the past decade， the city has gained 1，867 hectares of new green lots， with its forest coverage rate reaching 15.9 percent and 36.6 percent of the city being covered by the green lots. The industrial output value of the city rose from 2.88 billion yuan（$468.29 million） in 2004 to 40.63 billion yuan （$6.61 billion） in 2013， a 13.1-fold increase. Industrial value-added output of the city increased from 1.16 billion yuan （$188.62 million） in 2004 to 9.15 billion yuan （$1.49 billion） in 2013， up 6.9 times.

Zhongwei has transformed from a small remote county on the edge of a desert to a comfortable modern city suitable for living and working.

Lian Huaizhong， 43， a farmer in Heilin Village of Zhongwei， recalled that when he was in primary school， the sand beat the faces of his classmates so badly that many children went to school crying.

To improve the environment in the area， scientists and technicians entered Shapotou in the 1950s to research methods of controlling desertification. They invented a unique technology to prevent the spread of deserts—grass grids.

With this technology， deeply rooted grass is planted which is able to withstand sandstorms and thus can retard or prevent the expansion of deserts. It is considered a pioneering technology in the history of desertification management technology. However， for various reasons， this technology only widely came into use 10 years ago.

Today， at the photovoltaic industrial park on the edge of Tengger Desert， every piece of solar panel is fixed with grass， forming a new industryfriendly landscape in the desert.

Over the years， the government of Shapotou District has adopted various technologies to control desertification. Every year， officials from 20-30 countries and regions along the Silk Road Economic Belt come to Shapotou to learn about these technologies.

“The sandstorm threat is a major ecological problem faced by countries and regions along the Silk Road， and reducing sandstorms will therefore determine the success of ecological development in the Silk Road Economic Belt，” said Li Xinrong， Director of Shapotou Desert Research & Experiment Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences， who has been engaged in desertification control for more than 30 years.

Booming tourism

Remarkable achievements in the control of desertification have greatly boosted tourism in Shapotou. In recent years， by coordinating tourist services based around the local desert， the Yellow River and the areas wetland， Zhongwei has established a tourist industrial chain with Shapotou as a major attraction.

Thanks to a clean environment and convenient tourist services， tourism has become one of Zhongweis specialties. In 2013， Zhongwei received 2.97 million tourists， earning a total revenue of 1.81 billion yuan （$294.5 million）， accounting for 30 percent of the total of the autonomous region. The tourism industry has become a major factor in driving economic growth in Zhongwei. During the May Day holiday this year， Shapotou received 87，000 tourists， a year-on-year increase of 26.12 percent.

Wan Xuedao， Deputy Director of the Tourism Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， said with its unique desert and river resources， Zhongwei has good prospects for accelerating the transformation of its tourism industry. With Shapotou as its flagship， Zhongwei has established a series of tourist attractions including Tengger Wetland Park， Sikou Tourist Area， etc. that integrate history， culture and natural landscapes.

By taking measures such as holding desert sports events and desert-themed rock-and-roll music festivals， and operating chartered flights in nine major tourist source cities， as well as promoting the tourist resources via social media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat， Zhongwei has both improved the environment of tourist areas and actively promoted its tourist attractions through various means.

Xu Liqun， Mayor of Zhongwei， said the city will further coordinate its tourist resources， improve its industrial chain， and better the quality of services provided by local enterprises and the citys transportation facilities.

On the southern edge of Tengger Desert and to the south of Alxa Left Banner of Alxa League， Inner Mongolia， there are stretches of solar panels which resemble a brilliant blue ocean lying on the golden desert. This is where Zhongwei Desert Photovoltaic Industrial Park is located. With a planned area of 4，300 hectares and an investment of 20 billion yuan （$3.25 billion）， the park houses a photovoltaic manufacturing section， a photovoltaic power generation section， a photovoltaic agricultural warm house and a tourism section.

Industrial takeoff

“The photovoltaic industry is an ever-flourishing industry. In theory， the longevity of this industry is limited only by that of the sun，” said Li Zheng， General Manager of Zhongwei Yinyang New Energy Co. Ltd. The company has established a complete industrial chain for the production and manufacture of silicon materials， silicon chips， photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic power generators.

Upon completion， Zhongwei Desert Photovoltaic Industrial Park is expected to produce 2.79 billion kilowatt-hours of power with an output value of 7.1 billion yuan （$1.15 billion）， saving the equivalent of 1.12 million tons of coal and reducing emissions by 2.79 million tons in terms of carbon dioxide， 84，000 tons in terms of sulfur dioxide and 42，000 tons in terms of nitrogen oxides.

During the past decade， Zhongwei has established three major industrial parks and six special industrial parks， attracting a total of 205 companies.

In 2004， there were only 31 enterprises with annual revenue from primary business above 5 million yuan （$813，010）， while in 2013， 106 enterprises in the city had annual revenue above 20 million yuan （$3.25 million）. By 2013， 53 enterprises in the city had annual output value of more than 100 million yuan （$16.26 million） and five had annual output value of more than 2 billion yuan（$325.2 million）. In 2013， the city attracted investment of 16.96 billion yuan （$2.76 billion）， 34.4 times the figure when it was established 10 years ago.

Over the last 10 years， Zhongwei has been focusing on attracting large companies and large projects.

In 2013 alone， Zhongwei attracted Amazon. com， Ningxia Park of Zhongguancun Science Park and Ningxia West Cloud Valley Technology Co. Ltd.