Imagine cruising down the LiangyungangHorgos Highway and feeling your car sway in epic crosswinds. But this isnt a futuristic movie sceneits Dabancheng District in Xinjiang, now nicknamed Chinas Wind Valley! 🚗💨
Once famous for sweet watermelons and singing folk tunes like The Maiden of Dabancheng, this narrow strip of land is surrounded by mountains on three sides. When winds roar in from the west, the Venturi effect kicks in, creating ideal conditions for wind power.
Covering over 1,500 km2, Dabancheng sees 214 days of winds hitting force 6 or higher, and 149 days at level 8 or above each year. After 40+ years of wind farm development, this powerhouse now generates about 2.5 billion kWh annuallyenough to light up homes and feed into the Chinese mainlands West-to-East Power Transmission Project. ⚡️
Xinjiang is one of the clean energy leaders in the Chinese mainland, and Dabancheng ranks among its nine key wind zones. By the end of 2024, Xinjiang had sent a jaw-dropping 867.6 billion kWh of electricity eastward, with clean energy accounting for one-third of that total.
From folk melodies to futuristic turbines, Dabancheng shows how tradition and technology can blend to power a greener tomorrow. 🌱
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
