China builds "photovoltaic Great Wall" against desertification in Kubuqi Desert

Photo shows drip irrigation facilities beneath solar panels in the Kubuqi Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Liu Yilin)

Construction of a "photovoltaic Great Wall,” consisting of row upon row of blue solar panels, is underway deep in the Kubuqi Desert in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Upon completion, the "photovoltaic Great Wall" will stretch across hundreds of kilometers.

The "photovoltaic Great Wall" is also a "Great Wall" of green electricity, industries, innovation and prosperity, said Zhong Yuzhan, deputy head of the energy bureau of Dalad Banner, Inner Mongolia.

All the panels installed high above the ground can control the movement of dunes and reduce water evaporation, and allow drought-resistant plants and cash crops to grow underneath.

"We plan that by 2030, 12 million mu (0.8 million hectares) of desertified land in the Kubuqi Desert will be comprehensively treated, achieving the goal of building a 'photovoltaic Great Wall' to control desertification in the desert," Zhong said.

On the northern edge of the Kubuqi Desert, a green shelterbelt that will stretch 270 kilometers, is under construction to prevent desertification toward the Yellow River, said Yang Jinyao, director of the forestry and grassland development center of the forestry and grassland bureau of Hangjin Banner, Inner Mongolia.