Dunhuang City in northwest China's Gansu Province is home to the country's first 100-megawatt molten-salt tower solar thermal plant, a pioneering mega-project that underpins the city's status as a green energy hub and sets an example for Chinese clean energy projects.
In the plant's mirror field, 12,000 heliostats track the sun in concentric-circle arrays, reflecting sunlight onto the top of a 260-meter solar power tower. Each mirror covers more than 100 square meters and stands as far as 1.5 kilometers from the tower, requiring milliradian-level precision in angle adjustment to keep the reflected sunlight on target.
To maintain reflection efficiency, workers clean the mirrors before sunset each day with specialized machines and tailored cleaning methods that adjust with the seasons, avoiding water marks and scratches.
As a solar thermal demonstration project, the station was completed and began operation in 2018. Unlike conventional thermal units, which start and stop less often over the year, its operation is closely tied to local weather, with roughly 150 start-stop cycles annually. That frequent cycling puts valves and other components under metal fatigue.
After years of research, imported components of the station are gradually substituted by up-to-standard domestic products, providing a technical reference for similar projects and serving as a test field for Chinese equipment makers.
With its rich and diverse renewable resources, Gansu Province is powering itself and the whole country with wind, solar, thermal power, and new-type energy storage systems, and Dunhuang achieved full-year citywide green electricity supply in 2025.
Gansu's green power is also being sent to Hunan and Shandong provinces via ultra-high-voltage lines and will soon reach Zhejiang, helping drive China's nationwide green energy transition.
Mega solar power farm in Gansu powers China’s green energy ambitions
A grassroots official from Gari Village in Ya'an City of southwest China's Sichuan Province has led locals to conquer immense difficulties to build a road at an altitude of 4,000 meters, turning the once-isolated community into a thriving tourist destination, paving the way towards a prosperous life.
This is a story from a China Global Television Network (CGTN) documentary titled "4,000m Altitude: They Built a Road Straight to the Sky".
Due to its extreme altitude, Gari Village lacked a proper road more than a decade ago, forcing residents to hike in and out on foot.
Refusing to let his village remain cut off from the world, Asheng, the local Party chief, made it his mission to change their fate. Mobilizing the villagers, he led them in overcoming immense geographical and logistical hurdles to finally carve a road through the high-altitude terrain.
The road opened the gates to Dawagengzha, a stunning natural attraction whose name translates to "magic mountain" in the Tibetan language. As word of this natural wonder spread, tourists began to arrive. However, a new challenge quickly emerged: the village lacked hotels and other tourism infrastructure, meaning visitors couldn't stay overnight.
Recognizing the bottleneck, Asheng took the initiative once again, converting his own house into the village's first homestay.
Seeing the success of Asheng's venture, hesitant villagers quickly followed suit.
Today, Gari Village is home to 158 distinctive homestays, forming a thriving hospitality cluster known as "Cloud Dawagengzha". Campsites, inns, and wooden cabins now dot the mountain landscape.
In 2024, the village welcomed over one million tourist arrivals, generating a revenue of 120 million yuan (about 17.94 million U.S. dollars). The momentum has only continued to grow. During the autumn foliage season in 2025, the village recorded an average weekly tourism revenue exceeding 1.5 million yuan.
Looking ahead, Asheng said he will continue to explore ways to improve the lives of his fellow villagers.
The documentary is part of CGTN's "Breaking Through" series, which traces China's journey from the historic Long March to its modern-day achievements, highlighting the resilience, ingenuity, and determination of its people.
Building road at 4,000m, grassroots official leads locals to prosperity: documentary
