A Green Revolution

By Wang Hairong

Datong in north Chinas Shanxi Province boasts a unique kind of panda. A solar power station in its suburban area has rows upon rows of photovoltaic panels arranged to look like two huge panda cubs， which have become a symbol of the city to refl ect its transition to green development.

Datong， one of the top 10 coal-producing cities in China， is known as the coal capital. After President Xi Jinping visited the coalrich province in J une 2017 and expressed his hope that it would transform from a leader in energy production to a pioneer in energy revolution， Datong has accelerated its green growth.

The Datong Panda Power Plant was built by the China Merchants New Energy Group （CMNE）， a company headquartered in Hong Kong， under an agreement with the United Nations Development Program. The first phase of the project， with an installed capacity of 50 MW， was put into operation in 2017. According to the company， the plant has a total designed installed capacity of 100 MW， and in the next 25 years， is expected to cut the consumption of over 1 million tons of coal， which means reducing 274 tons of carbon dioxide emission.

Following Datong， the CMNE subsequently built three more panda-shaped solar power plants in Guigang in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China， Qamdo in Tibet Autonomous Region in the southwest and Huainan in Anhui Province in the east. It plans to build similar plants in other countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. The CMNE has also built another solar plant in a mining subsidence area in Datong.

Embracing new energy

China is rich in coal though poor in oil and natural gas. Its proven coal reserves account for 33.8 percent of the worlds total， and it has been a global leading coal producer， according to Liu Bingjiang， Director of the Atmospheric Environment Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Coal accounted for about 90 percent of Chinas primary energy consumption in the 1950s. Due to economic restructuring and environmental improvement efforts， this proportion dropped to 69.2 percent in 2010 and was a little below 60 percent in 2018.

The share will drop further in the future. According to a report released by China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute earlier this year， in 2018， the proportion of Chinas non-fossil energy consumption made up 14.3 percent of total primary energy consumption. The goal is to increase the figure to 15 percent by 2020 and to 20 percent by 2030.

In August， the Shanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission announced that 18 coal mines in the province would be shut down， including three in Datong. The three mines have a combined annual production capacity of 1.35 million tons.

Since 2016， Datong has reduced more than 17 million tons of coal production capacity， Wang Mingsheng， Director of the Datong City Development and Reform Commission， said， adding that many newenergy projects are under construction this year.

By the fi rst half of this year， new energy had accounted for 35 percent of Datongs total installed power-generation capacity， according to official statistics. Of all renewable energy sources， solar accounted for 57 percent， wind 40 percent， and the rest was biofuel and others.

“By the end of 2020， Datongs newenergy production will constitute 50 percent of its energy mix，” Wang said at a low-carbon development forum in Shanxis capital city Taiyuan in October.

To promote new energy and innovationdriven development， Datong has established the WIAAT New Energy Industry Technology Research Institute jointly with 10 academic institutions and two universities. The city has also hosted a variety of activities including forums and exhibitions to promote energy revolution and attract investment.

Rise of new industries

In addition to new energy， Datong has been fostering other emerging industries. Last year， it maintained double-digit growth in strategic emerging industries such as newgeneration information technology， highend equipment manufacturing and newenergy vehicles. Traditional industries have also accelerated their green and intelligent transformation.

Progress has been made in industrial restructuring. Traditional industries such as coal mining and coal-fired electricity generation once contributed 80 percent of Datongs industrial output and one third of the citys GDP， Wang said. In 2018， the value added of the coal industry dropped to 11 percent of the citys GDP， accounting for 43.9 percent of its industrial value added， 6.1 percentage points lower than the fi gure for the previous year， according to the Datong City Bureau of Statistics.

While the share of the coal industry declined， other industries rose. The contribution of the service industry to Datongs GDP reached 53.4 percent in 2018 after growing at a rate over 50 percent for four consecutive years.

Developing tourism

Tourism is also fl ourishing. In 2018， Datong received 69.11 million visits from domestic tourists， up 28.4 percent year on year， and 82，000 visits from overseas tourists， up 11.3 percent， according to the local government.

Datong is a city with a rich historical culture. It served as the capital during the Northern Wei Dynasty （386-534） and was an important military and trade hub in the following dynasties.

The Yungang Grottoes， one of the four most famous ones of their kind in China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for their Chinese Buddhist art， are located near Datong. Hengshan， one of Chinas top four sacred Buddhist mountains， is also in the vicinity.

The tourism industry was once eclipsed by the coal industry. But in 2008， Datong renovated its old town and improved tourism facilities. It has taken strict measures to address air pollution， including delineating zones where highly polluting fuels are prohibited.

“Our local guide shared with us how the city was restoring and rebuilding the Mingera old town so tourism could bring more jobs，” said Pamela Tobey， a U.S. graphic designer residing in Beijing.

“My husband and I were drawn there by some of the famous nearby attractions， such as the Hanging Temple on Hengshan， the Yungang Grottoes and the Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian County， the oldest surviving such structure in China，” she told Beijing Review.

She said they enjoyed the city， especially dining at the Fenglingge Restaurant， a timehonored brand famous for its fl ower-shaped steamed dumplings.

“It is interesting to learn how the city has been changing from its old persona as a coal area to one with history， tourism and more efforts at poverty reduction，” Tobey said， adding that she looks forward to seeing how the city will look in the future.