QINGHAI:A Guardian of China’s Water Tower

From the mesmerizingQaidam Basin and thevast Qinghai-TibetPlateau to the deepand vast Gobi Desert and thefertile Hehuang Valley， Qinghai’s720，000 square kilometers ofland host a unique journey tomodernization in which localpeople seize the opportunity forsustainable development.

Great Efforts in Ecological Protection

With an average altitude ofover 4，200 meters， the LongbaoNational Nature Reserve， locatedin Yushu City， Qinghai Province，is one of the highest plateauwetlands in the world. It was alsothe first nature reserve establishedin China to mainly protect blackneckedcranes and their breedinggrounds.

In recent years， the naturereserve has taken concreteactions to promote biodiversityconservation includingestablishing a scientific researchand monitoring informationsharing platform， collaboratingwith professional research andmonitoring teams， conductingregular biodiversity monitoringand surveys， carrying out naturescience education， and establishinga lake patrol team. Consequently，animal and plant resources havesteadily increased. The number ofbird species has increased year byyear， reaching 144 species from39 families in 19 orders. Thenature reserve is home to morethan 1.3 percent of the globalblack-necked crane populationand 9.4 percent of the globalbar-headed goose population. Thisis just a microcosm of Qinghai’sefforts to protect the ecologicalenvironment.

Qinghai， home tothe headwaters for the Yangtze，Yellow， and Lancang rivers，has been dubbed “the watertower of China，” and it holds auniquely important position in thecountry’s ecological development.The province has focused onbuilding an ecological civilizationand reinforcing its status asChina’s “water tower” in recentyears. Qinghai is one of the mostrepresentative areas of biodiversityin the country and a sensitive andcrucial area for climate change inAsia， the Northern Hemisphere，and even globally. Every year，60 to 90 billion cubic meters ofsource water flow downstreamfrom the province.

In recent years， Qinghaihas steadily promoted thedevelopment of national parks.The Sanjiangyuan （Three-River-Source） National Parkwas the first and remains thelargest national park in China.Upgrading and constructionprojects in Qilian Mountainsand Qinghai Lake national parkshave been carried out in anorderly manner. Today， Qinghaiis the only province in Chinawith three national parks underconstruction. The Sanjiangyuanarea has already regained itsbeauty with thousands of lakes.The population of Tibetanantelopes has increased from lessthan 20，000 at the turn of the21st century to over 70，000 now.The number of snow leopards，a flagship animal of the plateau，exceeds 1，200. Over 600，000birds of various species frequentQinghai Lake. The reserves ofthe naked carp， a species of fishendemic to Qinghai Lake， reached120，300 tons by the end of 2023，increasing by 6，200 tons or 5.4percent from 2022. Comparedto the 2，600 tons in the initialprotection period in 2002， thefigure has grown by 46 times.

Pooling New Momentum for Green Development

On the Talatan Gobi Desertin Gonghe County， part of theHainan Tibetan AutonomousPrefecture in Qinghai， countlesssolar panels of a photovoltaicpower plant are spread outlike a blue ocean， energizingthe once barren land. It is thecountry’s first 10 millionkilowattsolar power base：Talatan Photovoltaic PowerGeneration Park. In Delingha，Haixi Mongolian and TibetanAutonomous Prefecture， workersare busy testing giant windturbines in the workshop ofQinghai Mingyang New EnergyCo.， Ltd. to ensure that the locallymade products can soon rotate inthe wind.

From shining photovoltaicpanels in Talatan to wind turbinesin the Gobi Desert， Qinghaiis resolutely committed to thedevelopment of green and cleanenergy. Since 2021， Qinghai hasmaintained a leading position inthe development of clean energynationwide， with continuouslyincreasing momentum and vitalitythanks to its resource advantages.In 2023， the province’s energyindustry again delivered impressiveresults. The installed capacity ofclean energy exceeded 51 millionkilowatts， accounting for 93percent of the province’s totalinstalled capacity， while that ofnew energy exceeded 38 millionkilowatts， accounting for 69percent of the total， both rankingfirst in the country. The provincehas completed China’s first greenpower corridor and suppliedgreen electricity to 15 provinces，autonomous regions， andmunicipalities across the country.Green power from Qinghai hasilluminated places such as BeijingDaxing International Airportand the venues of the HangzhouAsian Games. Qinghai is movingforward at full speed， planning andconstructing another two greenpower corridors.

Qinghai is rich in resources，with reserves of potassium salt，magnesium salt， and lithiumsalt accounting for over 80percent of the country’s total. Itshydropower resources rank fifth，and its total annual solar radiationranks second in the nation. Theprovince ranks fourth nationwidein terms of wind energy resourcesand is known as one of fourmajor pollution-free and ultracleanareas globally. To promotehigh-quality development，Qinghai is focused on becominga world-class salt-lake industrialbase， a national clean energyhub， an international ecotourismdestination， and a supplier ofgreen， organic agricultural andlivestock products. These effortshave achieved new breakthroughsand leaps forward.

The results speak forthemselves. Qinghai’s transitionand strategy on sustainabledevelopment have becomeincreasingly clear as the provincehas steadfastly moved towardshigh-quality development.