Aug. 14, 2024 -- The color green is a symbol of life and hope, and more and more of it can be seen in the deserts of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai province. From "desert advancing, people retreating" to "green advancing, desert retreating", a harmonious and beautiful picture of coexistence between humans and nature is gradually unfolding on the ever-greening deserts and barren lands.

The combo photo shows a contrast between the past and present views of Talatan Gobi Desert in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture committee)

On July 10, 2022, China's State Council approved the establishment of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture as a national innovation demonstration zone for sustainable development, ushering the prefecture into a brand new period of development opportunities.

Today, the barren land has developed into a hub for the solar and wind power industries, transforming its barren and desolate appearance of the past.

The prefecture's results in spearheading sustainable development have been outstanding, and include increasing the proportion of days with good air quality to 97.6 percent, keeping the water quality of the Yellow River outlet section at Grade II or above, adding 20.94 million kilowatts of installed capacity of new energy, and establishing 83 standardized production bases for yaks and Tibetan sheep.

Numerous photovoltaic panels create a magnificent spectacle of a "blue ocean" in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (People's Daily Online/Gan Haiqiong)

In the two years since the establishment of the demonstration zone, the prefecture's cumulative total of electricity generated from new energy sources exceeded 40 billion kilowatt-hours, while its total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery reached 7.07 billion yuan ($0.98 billion).

In particular, Talatan Gobi Desert, one of the province's once most vulnerable desertified areas, has taken on a beautiful new look, becoming a vast "blue sea" of endless photovoltaic panels.

A flock of sheep leisurely roam a photovoltaic power industrial park in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (People's Daily Online/Gan Haiqiong)