Li Haiyun
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics culminated with the hopeful note that these were the games that will be remembered in the history of the Games.
One of the biggest highlights of this ice and snow festival is that it put the concept of an all-green Olympics into practice.
Before the opening of the Olympics, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Winter Olympics, said that the Beijing Winter Olympics would be the first “all-green” Games in history and would set a model for the green and sustainable development of the host City and beyond.
At a regular press conference in early 2022, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian highlighted the green and environment-friendly notion of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in a romantic way by saying, “ Zhangbei’s wind lights up numerous households in Beijing” while introducing the green electricity supplier for the Games, Zhangbei County in Hebei province.
Thanks to the strong support of Zhangbei County, all 26 venues in the three competition zones were powered by green energy, making the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics the first Olympic Games in history to use 100% green and clean energy.
How is Zhangbei’s new energy development going, and what kind of place is it? To clear up these mysteries, please ride the wind of the Beijing Olympics and join me there for a visit!
Hebei Province is among the most important provinces in North China and one of China’s major provinces of ice and snow. Zhangjiakou, one of the three competition zones of the Winter Olympics, is located in northwestern Hebei province, and Zhangbei County is one of the administrative divisions of Zhangjiakou City.
In recent years, the Zhangbei region has been developing rapidly by taking advantage of its superior natural conditions and resources. Its good momentum is best embodied in the success of becoming a provider of clean electricity for the Games.
Zhangbei County is an ideal place for developing new energy sources due to its climate, resources, and geographical location advantages. It is situated in the Bashang region on the southern edge of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, the most accessible plateau area from Beijing and Tianjin.
Because of this, the wind is so strong in Zhangbei that a local saying goes, “The gale blows once a year, lasting from spring to winter.” This is a vivid illustration of the abundant wind resources here.
Not only that, but Zhangbei also abounds in solar energy. With long sunshine hours, strong solar radiation, and clear air, it is one of the areas with good conditions for solar energy use and one of the areas with the highest total solar radiation in Hebei Province.
Given its sufficient wind and solar energy and an entire industry of power generation, testing, equipment manufacturing, and scientific research demonstration, Zhangbei County has moved into the lead in developing new energy in China.
By mid-2021, the county had built a total installed capacity of 5.6 million kW of wind power and photovoltaic power, including 3.58 million kW of wind power with 3.34 million kW in it connected to the grid system and 2.02 million kW of photovoltaic power connected to the grid system, making Zhangbei rank first in Hebei province and one of the front-runners among all the counties in China.
Currently, the±500 kV flexible DC converter station at the transmission end of Zhangbei Renewable energy ±500 kV flexible DC power transmission demonstration project of State Grid has been put into operation.
The 500 kV flexible DC power grid adopts many new world-leading technologies, all of which are the world’s firsts. This DC power grid is currently of the highest voltage grade and has the largest transmission capacity in the world.
Through this grid, green electricity from Zhangbei was delivered with minimal losses to all the venues in the three Olympic zones in Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou. Achieving full green power coverage for all these means saving 4.9 million tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 12.8 million tonnes per year in Beijing.
Zhangbei’s great renewable energy reserves provided the most solid guarantee for a green, low-carbon Winter Olympics. The clean electricity lights up a Winter Olympic venue and the lights of Beijing. As Zhao Lijian said, this is a story of brightening Beijing with Zhangbei wind power.
The climate of Zhangbei is cool and unique. Summer temperatures are generally below 28℃. The number of days in natural wind-cooling mode can be over 350 days throughout the year.
The air quality here is averagely at or above Grade II of China’s national standard for more than 300 days a year. Due to the favorable temperature and clean air, Zhangbei County is also at the top of the list in the development of the cloud computing industry.
With the completion of Alibaba’s northern cloud base in Zhangbei, the largest single data center in Asia, the local cloud computing industry has grown rapidly, which has not only helped to change the regional energy consumption pattern between Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei but has also achieved the revolutionary transformation of Hebei to Beijing from “coal transport” to “power transmission” and then to “information transmission.”
It will also facilitate the quick integration of Hebei’s local and other related areas into the Beijing-Tianjin industrial development pattern.
In addition to developing new energy and information industries, the Zhangbei region also has great potential in other areas. With a pleasant climate, beautiful scenery, convenient transportation, and a long history, it is rich in natural and cultural resources.
Apart from wind and light, Zhangbei has unique agricultural and animal husbandry resources, precious mineral resources, and a wealth of tourism resources. The favorable climate conditions have allowed it to boast a forest coverage rate of 28% and a grassland vegetation coverage rate of 72.5%.
These unique natural resources have earned the county the reputation of being “the hometown of clouds,” “the ocean of grass,” and “the natural oxygen bar.” People often find it difficult to separate themselves from the harmonious ecological landscape between man and nature.
It is a famous summer resort in China and a perfect place for grassland tourism and winter sports. The grassland Music Festival, held here every summer, has a national reputation. The famous Zhangbei Grassland Highway (or Grass Skyline) perches like a dragon on top of the mountains, stretching from the Wildfox ridge in the west to the Birch ridge in the east.
Walking along the road, you feel like you’re walking through the clouds. The scenery along the road ranks it among China’s top ten most beautiful roads. Zhangbei County has a long history and a rich cultural heritage. Successively, some 17 grassland people have settled here.
The Great Wall of Yan, Zhao, Qin, Han, Northern Wei, and Ming dynasties passed through Zhangbei County. Emperor Wuzong Khayishan of the Yuan dynasty built the Zhongdu (or the Middle Capital) of the Yuan Dynasty, leaving behind a glorious legacy of “a capital city, half of the history of the Yuan Dynasty”.
Zhangku Avenue, the world-famous “Northern Silk Road,” runs through the county, witnessing the historical changes in the course of Mongolian and Han trade exchanges and ethnic integration.
Presently, Zhangbei has 8 A-level scenic spots, including one national 4A-level scenic spot, five 3A-level scenic spots, two 2A-level scenic spots, one national key cultural relics protection unit, and two local rural tourism demonstration sites.
With a good natural environment and high-quality tourism resources, Zhangbei was rated as China’s top ten counties of grassland eclogue in 2017, China’s top 100 “deep breathing towns” in 2018, China’s top 100 counties for summer vacation and leisure in 2019, and one of the most beautiful counties in China in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Although the beautiful picture of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games has been put away, China’s green and low-carbon practices at the Games have left a rich and sustainable Olympic legacy to the world.
As the clean power supplier for this Green Beijing Games, Zhangbei County is an explorer and practitioner of green technology. It indeed plays an important part in delivering on China’s promise of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Zhangbei’s wind will continue to light up Beijing’s lamps and also the lamp of hope for green earth.
**The Diplomatic Insight does not take any position on issues. The views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Diplomatic Insight and its staff.
