Shanxi: Paving a Path to Modernity

In recent years， ShanxiProvince has devotedextraordinary efforts toembracing transformationand forging a new path ofdevelopment. The province hasbeen resolute about embracinginnovation and acceleratingconstruction of a modernindustrial system that reflectsits distinctive advantages. It hassteadfastly pursued efficiency，stimulating the endogenousdriving forces and innovativevitality of business entities. Theprovince is firmly committedto green development andaccelerating construction of abeautiful Shanxi. People in Shanxiare leading a better-off life on theroad to high-quality development.

Innovation-driven Transformation

On December 28， 2023， aceremony was held to markthe upgrading of the ShanxiData Traffic Eco Park into adevelopment zone， marking theemergence of a new landmarkfor the digital economy and apowerful engine for high-qualitydevelopment in the province.Since the establishment andoperation of the park in 2020，the digital industry cluster hasmaintained rapid growth. Overthe past few years， the scale of datafactor circulation and transactionsin the park has exceeded 3.9billion yuan （US$502 million），with an input-output ratio of 1：7.8.

The data traffic eco park isan outstanding representative ofShanxi’s innovations on the digitaleconomy. To pursue high-qualitydevelopment， Shanxi is embracinginnovation and acceleratingconstruction of a modernindustrial system that reflectsits own distinctive advantages.Guided by technologicalinnovation， Shanxi has gatheredresources to create an innovationdrivenplatform， achieving newbreakthroughs in several keycore technologies. With newindustrialization as the lead andadvanced manufacturing as thefocus， the province has planneddevelopment of 71 industrialzones， with new productsspreading nationwide and gainingglobal recognition.

A group of emerging strategicindustries are clustering intochains in Shanxi. Based onits industrial foundation anddevelopment trends， Shanxi hasidentified 10 key industrial chainsincluding new energy vehicles，hydrogen energy， and wind powerequipment. The world’s firstmethanol-electric hybrid vehiclerolled off a production line inShanxi， and the country’s firstexperimental laboratory formining navigation technologyopened there. New drivers fordevelopment continue to emergein Shanxi， accelerating thedevelopment of emerging strategicindustries.

Safeguarding National Energy Security

At the Guandi Mine of XishanCoal Electricity Group， miningcoal is automated， includingusage of an intelligent washingand sorting system in the coalpreparation plant. Real-timehigh-definition images and relateddata on key areas throughout thecoal mine are clearly displayedon the large screen. The shiftdispatcher can keep abreast of theconditions of each working facethrough the screen. With just oneclick on the intelligent mechanizedmining face， coal is transportedto the ground with the conveyorbelts and then to different partsof the country. Shepherding anenergy revolution has alwaysbeen an important component ofShanxi’s high-quality developmentstrategy. In 2023， Shanxi investedheavily to build a pilot area forcomprehensive energy reform，opening 118 intelligent coalmines and 1，491 intelligentmining faces. All undergroundcoal mining facilities in Shanxihave achieved comprehensivemechanization. About 54 percentof coal production capacity hasbeen realized through intelligentmining， and the proportion ofadvanced coal production capacityhas reached over 80 percent.

While upgrading traditionalcoal-based energy sources， Shanxiis actively developing low-carbonand green new energy andaccelerating the energy revolutioncharacterized by diversifiedsupply. In Shanxi， towering windturbines adorn the mountains，and rows of blue photovoltaicpanels dot the hills， continuouslydelivering green energy tothousands of households.

Shanxi has also introducedthe nation’s first local regulationon clean and efficient use ofcoal， focusing on tackling keyenergy technologies， promotingnew green， low-carbon， andenergy-saving technologies， andadvancing establishment of newpatterns of energy consumption.During the first three years of the14th Five-Year Plan period （2021-2025）， the cumulative decrease inenergy consumption intensity inthe province was 10.9 percent， thesteepest drop in the nation.

Bluer Skies， Cleaner Water，and More Pleasant Environment

Datong City， located innorthern Shanxi， is the coldestarea of the province. In 2023，it welcomed around 3，000 graycranes， injecting vitality and lifeinto the Sanggan River NationalWetland Park during the winter.Yuncheng City， situated at thesouthern edge of Shanxi， is thewarmest city in the province. In2023， nearly 100 swans migratedto Yanhu Lake in Yuncheng.Xinzhou City， in north-centralShanxi， has seen a consistentincrease in migratory bird specieswintering there due to coordinatedadvancement in management ofmountains， water， forests， fields，lakes， grass， and sand systems.

Birds are indicator speciesfor measuring the biodiversity，integrity， and ecological qualityof an area. In 2023， the ecologicalenvironment of Shanxi improvedsignificantly， with all mandatorytargets set by the centralgovernment achieved. Around304，466 hectares of afforestationwere completed， and the scaleof artificial afforestation in theprovince ranked first in Chinafor three consecutive years. Newdistribution areas were foundfor around 30 plant species and17 bird species in the province.And Shanxi hosts the largestpopulation of Northern Chineseleopards nationwide.

For a long time， Shanxi hasfaced numerous accumulatedproblems in ecological andenvironmental protectionand encountered tremendousdifficulties and high costsin pollution prevention andcontrol due to its status as animportant national energybase. To fight pollution andinject “green momentum” intohigh-quality development，Shanxi implemented greeningprojects for the Taihang andLyuliang mountains， carriedout treatment of seven riversincluding the Fenhe andSanggan rivers， strengthenedprotection of five lakes such asthe Yanhu and Jinyang lakes.The province fought pollutionhard through prevention andcontrol projects to ensure cleanwater flows into the YellowRiver. Guided by the conceptof modernizing a harmoniouscoexistence between humanityand nature and building abeautiful Shanxi， the provincehas coordinated ecologicalgovernance comprehensively，accelerated ecological civilizationconstruction， and laid a solidgreen foundation for high-qualitydevelopment.