HOHHOT, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A smart digital platform for optimizing electricity use, an eco-industrial park running on renewable energy, and multiple ecological restoration initiatives -- a group of foreign journalists has been impressed by the green development momentum in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
As part of an ongoing press tour series that offers international journalists a closer look at China's implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) nationwide, a three-day visit focusing on green development kicked off on June 10, bringing together journalists from the United States, Brazil, Japan and various other countries.
Their first stop was the Horinger New Area in Hohhot, the regional capital. As a core zone for the region's computing capacity, the area exemplifies Inner Mongolia's role as one of the country's national computing hubs.
At the Mengma intelligent transportation equipment manufacturing base, a dynamic pricing mechanism on a digital platform captured the attention of Reuters journalist Colleen Kristen Howe, who was impressed by how the mechanism optimizes electricity consumption through minor price adjustments based on real-time data analysis.
A frontrunner in intelligent computing capacity, the area has already attracted multiple major national telecom operators and financial institutions, and will continue to draw more leading digital enterprises in the future, said Cao Zhanwei, director of the area's enterprise development service center.
In Ordos, a city once heavily reliant on coal, the journalists witnessed firsthand a profound green transformation underway at a local eco-industrial park.
According to Zou Quanlin, general manager of the Envision Ordos modern energy equipment industrial park, 70 percent of the park's electricity is supplied directly from renewable energy sources. The park also features AI-powered models capable of delivering high-precision, ultra-short-term meteorological forecasts, along with electricity demand prediction and optimal power trading.
A battery swap solution tailored for new energy heavy trucks displayed at the park also drew keen interest from the visiting journalists. Designed to replace traditional diesel vehicles in coal transportation, these new energy trucks can travel 150 to 200 kilometers at full load, with a battery swap taking only four minutes.
Zhao Jie, head of an innovation research institute of the Beiben Trucks Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese heavy-duty truck producer, introduced journalists to the company's autonomous tractor vehicles and other cutting-edge products, explaining that the vehicles have a wide range of application scenarios, including mines, industrial parks, and ports.
"Building this industrial park is not an easy task," said Victoria Martins Damasceno, a journalist from Folha de S.Paulo. "It reflects the tremendous efforts being made toward green development."
Noting that Inner Mongolia serves as a key battleground in the country's fight against desertification, the journalists also turned their lenses to the region's ecological restoration efforts.
At the Engebei ecological demonstration site, they observed ongoing restoration projects, where Salix psammophila shrubs are being planted to stabilize shifting dunes and restore vegetation cover.
At a photovoltaic base in Dalad Banner in the Kubuqi Desert, vast expanses of solar panels stretch across the sands like a blue ocean. This large-scale photovoltaic installation not only helps stabilize the desert ecosystem but also generates substantial economic benefits through clean energy production. To manage this massive infrastructure, drone-based inspection systems are being used to improve everyday operating efficiency.
Lee Phil Hee, a reporter with South Korea's MBC, said that this was his second visit to Inner Mongolia and the visit offered a clearer understanding.
"Last time, I focused more on the natural environment, but this time I have witnessed the region's green development firsthand," he said. "The desert control efforts and photovoltaic technologies here are highly advanced." ■
