Ordos transforms desert into energy hub and green oasis

Ordos city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region is making significant strides in desertification control under China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program.

To date, the city has rehabilitated over 10 million mu (about 666,000 hectares) of desert land – averaging over 10,000 mu restored daily – effectively turning vast sandscapes into thriving ecosystems.

Home to the Kubuqi Desert, China's seventh largest, and part of the Mu Us Sandy Land, Ordos is one of the country's most severely desertified areas.

However, innovative ecological strategies are reshaping its landscape. In Hanggin Banner, large-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations stretch across the Kubuqi Desert, where panels shimmer like a blue sea and desert willows thrive beneath them. One such project plans a total capacity of 13 million kilowatts across 487,000 mu, just 5 kilometers from the Yellow River – forming a natural barrier against desert expansion.

So far, Ordos has installed 10.02 million kW of PV capacity in the Kubuqi Desert, aiding in the greening of 600,000 mu of land and boosting income for over 50,000 local residents.

According to Yan Wei, a senior engineer at the city's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program Center, a 400-km "photovoltaic Great Wall" now spans the northern edge of the desert.

Complementing this is a 420-km forest belt along the desert's edge, which, together with sand dams, green belts, and the PV corridor, forms a four-layered ecological defense system that has pushed desert boundaries back by several dozen kilometers.

"On the Yellow River's southern bank lies the forest belt; to the south, the photovoltaic corridor. These blue and green 'Great Walls' support and enhance each other," said Song Junfeng, head of Ordos' forestry and grassland bureau.

Since October 2023, Ordos has collaborated with neighboring regions – Yulin (Shaanxi), Wuzhong and Shizuishan (Ningxia), and Qingyang (Gansu) – to coordinate desertification control across the Mu Us Sandy Land, breaking administrative barriers to form an integrated ecological network.

With advancements in targeted, mechanized desert control, Ordos has moved from manual, large-scale campaigns to precision ecological engineering. As a result, once-endless dunes are gradually giving way to a vast landscape of solar panels and green life – a new frontier of sustainability and environmental resilience.