Qinghai's Hainan Prefecture: National Innovation Demo Zone
Sheep eat grass next to solar panels at a photovoltaic park in Gonghe county, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (PHOTO: VCG)
By CHEN Chunyou & ZHANG Yun
The park has become the world's largest concentrated development demonstration park in terms of installed capacity, with its business scope covering photovoltaics, wind power, equipment manufacturing and intelligent operation and maintenance of power infrastructure.
The park also aids in controlling desertification. A vast expanse of solar panels brought by the concentrated photovoltaic projects shadows the surface of the semi-desert region, which helps lower wind speed and reduce evaporation, thereby increasing vegetation coverage, and turning the semi-desert green.
In addition, Hainan Prefecture is also abundant with water resources, which have been transformed into momentum for development.
Taking advantage of the water resources in the dam area, Hainan Prefecture established an intelligent large-scale salmon breeding base and achieved an output value of 560 million RMB in 2022.
Resorting to external help
Despite facing challenges due to its geological location, such as lacking universities and institutes, and having a relatively weak foundation for technological innovation, Hainan Prefecture actively seeks help from experts all over the country to solve technological challenges.
Xie Kangyong, director of Hainan Prefectural Science and Technology Bureau, said an expert advisory committee composed of 60 academicians has been set up to provide technical services and decision-making consultation for major industrial projects.
"We are cooperating with the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to set up an experimental base, aiming to establish a technological chain centering around ecological governance and the commercialization of research results from agricultural and livestock industry," added Xie.
Su Haihong, deputy director-general of Qinghai Science and Technology Department (QSTD), said the construction of the innovation demonstration zone has ushered in significant strategic opportunities for the region's development.
QSTD will accelerate the application of green and low-carbon technologies in the zone, and promote the integrated development of photovoltaic industry, ecological protection, and agricultural and livestock products, to enrich the innovation and industrial chains.
