Western China - news and development

[AndrewJin]

They could have thought of reducing energy generated by coal-powered plants in order to open room for renewables during winter time until enough transmission and storage capacity is installed but there is a major drawback to this: Wind and solar energy is not perfectly reliable (being subject to natural conditions). Therefore, traditional resources still matter. Hopefully, in a few years time, the grid will be able to meet the extra supply. This would also ease the dependency on coal, which, I turn, would help reduce stress on the environment.

Western China has huge energy sources.
China makes progress in shale gas exploration
Sinopec announced on Tuesday that its Fuling shale gas project in China's Chongqing province has an annual production capacity of five billion cubic metres.

More production capacity will be extracted, and hopefully a large-scale gas field with annual production of 10 billion will be on stream by 2017, XInhua cited Sinopec as saying.

The gas field has been producing 15 million cubic metres of gas every day for a month, which means it has an annual production capacity of five billion cubic metres. It can meet daily gas needs for 30 million households.

Since being explored in 2013, the gas field has produced around 3.88 billion cubic metres of gas, Sinopec said.

Shale gas is mainly methane. It is considered a type of clean and new energy resource.

The Fuling field, discovered in 2012, has explored reserves of 380.6 billion cubic metres of shale gas, as confirmed by the land and resources ministry.

 

[jkroo]

Very good thread. The development of western China is a big affair within next ten years. It's also a strategic development related to one belt one road plan, silk road and CPEC, I will follow this thread.

 

[ahojunk]

Some news on Tibet, which is also in Western China.

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China's central bank gives a helping hand to Tibet
Chen Jia | China Daily/Asia News Network | Tuesday, Dec 29, 2015

Students work on an improvised car assembly line in Lhasa, Tibet. Photo: Reuters

China's central bank is seeking new methods to strengthen financial support in the Tibet autonomous region, aiming to accelerate regional economic development and lift local residents out of poverty in the next five years.

New financial measures, including more aggressive bank lending with relatively low interest rates in Tibet than other regions, are under discussion, according to officials and financial industry executives.

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, will encourage commercial banks to issue more loans to enterprises in Tibet, based on lower financial costs and required reserve ratio, according to Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the bank.

"Financial institutions, including banks, securities companies and insurance companies, will launch more branches in Tibet in the next five years, and the policy will support development of private banks, village banks and other micro-financial institutions in the area to expand their service coverage," said Pan.

More funds raised by those financial institutions will be injected into infrastructure construction projects, environmental protection and urban development.

The policy will focus on small and micro credit for local farmers and herders, and be used to relieve poverty, the official said.

Due to its plateau climate and relatively undeveloped economy, the financial sector in Tibet lags behind other regions in the country, and especially lacks financial professionals.

According to data from the central bank, by the end of November, 11 banks had launched branches in Tibet. Total outstanding loans reached about 205 billion yuan (S$44.5 billion), 6.8 times the amount in 2010.

In the first 11 months, enterprises in Tibet has raised fund of 21.5 billion yuan from the equity market.

In 2014, the total GDP of the Tibet autonomous region was 92 billion yuan, the lowest among all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, which equaled only about 7.3 per cent of the GDP in Guangdong province－the country's highest last year.

Xie Xuezhi, chairman of the Agricultural Development Bank, one of China's three major policy banks, said his bank will invest more than 100 billion yuan into Tibet in the next five years. It has issued 4.9 billion yuan in loans in the region this year.

Liu Shiyu, chairman of Agricultural Bank of China, said by the end of 2016 his bank plans to expand services to all villages in the region that have basic telecommunication infrastructure.

Losang Jamcan, chairman of the autonomous region, said the region is predicted to achieve annual GDP of more than 100 billion yuan this year, up 12.2 per cent year-on-year.

 

[TaiShang]

Western China's most important high-speed railway project of 2015
Chengdu-Chongqing High-speed Railway(300-350km/h)
View attachment 284387 View attachment 284384 View attachment 284385 View attachment 284386 View attachment 284388 View attachment 284389 View attachment 284390 View attachment 284391

Do not also ignore your wonderful thread on China's HSR, bro Threads like this and that must always be kept updated and on the first page.

***

Tibet sees growth in wildlife population

2016-01-01 10:20:00

Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region has seen its wildlife population increase in recent decades thanks to protective measures.

The regional forestry department said Thursday that the population of the Tibetan red deer, a species on the verge of extinction, has been growing since the late 1990s, with over 8,300 today.

The majority live in a red deer nature reserve in Qamdo prefecture. The 120,000-hectare reserve, established in 1993, has seen its population of red deer grow from 1,500 to over 8,000 over the past two decades, thanks to infrastructure construction, hunting bans and red deer rescue centers.

Statistics show that there are currently 47 nature reserves in Tibet, covering about one third of the land within the jurisdiction of the regional government.

Officials with Qomolangma nature reserve said the reserve now has 2,550 species of plants, compared to 2,348 in 1988 when it was established.

Qomolangma reserve, sitting at an average altitude of 4,200 meters, also has 12 species of first class national protected animals and 342 kinds of birds.

Staff with the reserve said there have been more frequent sightings of the snow leopard in recent years, and the increase of wetland has attracted flocks of black-necked cranes, while the area was not a habitat for the bird in the past due to its dry climate.

 

[AndrewJin]

Do not also ignore your wonderful thread on China's HSR, bro Threads like this and that must always be kept updated and on the first page.

***

Tibet sees growth in wildlife population

2016-01-01 10:20:00

Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region has seen its wildlife population increase in recent decades thanks to protective measures.

The regional forestry department said Thursday that the population of the Tibetan red deer, a species on the verge of extinction, has been growing since the late 1990s, with over 8,300 today.

The majority live in a red deer nature reserve in Qamdo prefecture. The 120,000-hectare reserve, established in 1993, has seen its population of red deer grow from 1,500 to over 8,000 over the past two decades, thanks to infrastructure construction, hunting bans and red deer rescue centers.

Statistics show that there are currently 47 nature reserves in Tibet, covering about one third of the land within the jurisdiction of the regional government.

Officials with Qomolangma nature reserve said the reserve now has 2,550 species of plants, compared to 2,348 in 1988 when it was established.

Qomolangma reserve, sitting at an average altitude of 4,200 meters, also has 12 species of first class national protected animals and 342 kinds of birds.

Staff with the reserve said there have been more frequent sightings of the snow leopard in recent years, and the increase of wetland has attracted flocks of black-necked cranes, while the area was not a habitat for the bird in the past due to its dry climate.

I would highly appreciate if all of u can help me upgrade those threads, metro, HSR, electric bus, etc.
@TaiShang @cirr @JSCh @yusheng et al

 

[TaiShang]

I would highly appreciate if all of u can help me upgrade those threads, metro, HSR, electric bus, etc.
@TaiShang @cirr @JSCh @yusheng et al

And @ahojunk 's AIIB and China Culture Industry.

Also threads initiated by @Martian2 .

 

[ahojunk]

Western China has huge energy sources.
China makes progress in shale gas exploration
Sinopec announced on Tuesday that its Fuling shale gas project in China's Chongqing province has an annual production capacity of five billion cubic metres.

More production capacity will be extracted, and hopefully a large-scale gas field with annual production of 10 billion will be on stream by 2017, XInhua cited Sinopec as saying.

The gas field has been producing 15 million cubic metres of gas every day for a month, which means it has an annual production capacity of five billion cubic metres. It can meet daily gas needs for 30 million households.

Since being explored in 2013, the gas field has produced around 3.88 billion cubic metres of gas, Sinopec said.

Shale gas is mainly methane. It is considered a type of clean and new energy resource.

The Fuling field, discovered in 2012, has explored reserves of 380.6 billion cubic metres of shale gas, as confirmed by the land and resources ministry.

Besides Chongqing, Xinjiang is another producer of natural gas.
------
Xinjiang produces 300 bln cubic meters of natural gas in 6 decades
2016-01-01 12:59 | Xinhua | Editor: Gu Liping

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region produced 30.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2015, pushing the total output to 301 billion cubic meters since the autonomous region was established in 1955.

According to the latest statistics from the region's four major gas producers, the Karamay, Tarim, Tuha and Tahe oil fields, Xinjiang has yielded over 20 percent of national gas output for 11 consecutive years.

Xinjiang is the birthplace of China's petroleum and natural gas industry. The Karamay oil field was discovered 60 years ago and produced up to one million cubic meters of natural gas that year. The daily output of natural gas in Xinjiang achieved 95 million cubic meters this year.

Boasting three major gas-rich basins -- Tarim, Junggar and Tuha -- Xinjiang began developing its gas exploitation industry in 2004 after a large project started bringing gas from Xinjiang to China's booming eastern regions.

The increase in Xinjiang's gas output has also boosted the development of China's natural gas industry and clean energy use in the region. Natural gas consumption per capita in Xinjiang reached 240 cubic meters in 2014, which was 1.7 times the national average.

Xinjiang has huge potential in oil and gas exploration and production. Resource assessment shows the region has 1.4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 5.6 billion tonnes of oil.

 

[ahojunk]

This freight train is a blessing to Sichuan, Qinghai and Xinjiang.
In the past, it took 6 weeks to ship goods from Chengdu to Europe by sea, but with this freight train, it will take only 2 weeks. It's a massive improvement!
It used to be a disadvantage to have factories in Chengdu, now it has become an advantage.

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China-Europe Fast Rail Brings Mutual Benefit
2016-01-02 17:24:25 | Xinhua | Web Editor: Chu Yiming

Trains made nearly 180 round trips between Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province and Lodz, Poland, in the last two and a half years.

Since 2013, three trains a week have made the 9,826 kilometer trip on the Chengdu-Europe fast rail, reaching Poland via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus.

"Commodities are transported to Europe within 15 days," said Xu Pingfu, vice director of the Chengdu logistics office. "It is the fastest freight railway between China and Europe."

Around 300 trains will ply the route in 2016, which will extend to Hamburg in Germany and Tilburg in the Netherlands. Commodities from coastal cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xiamen are transported to Chengdu and from there to Europe because of the line's low cost and high reliability.

"The price of transporting commodities on the Chengdu-Europe line is one fifth of the air freight cost, and it is three times faster than shipping," said Xu.

Chengdu will spend a total of 1.9 billion yuan (300 million US dollars) in the next three years building China's largest international railway port, said Chen Zhongwei, director of Chengdu logistics office.

Many leading exporters are considering moving to Chengdu for these reasons, according to Chen.

"We aim to be the pivot between Europe and Pan-Asia by building international railways and establishing a European commodity distribution center in the next three years," Chen said.

 

[ahojunk]

Some pictures of the railway from Chengdu, Sichuan to Lodz, Poland.

 

[JSCh]

Internet reaches 80 percent of Tibet's villages
(Xinhua) Updated: 2016-01-04 19:06

People in Nyingchi county in Tibet autonomous region surf the Internet in this 2012 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]​

LHASA -- More than 80 percent of villages in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have access to the Internet, according to the latest statistics.

By the end of December 2015, 4,208 villages had broadband, accounting for 80 percent of the total, up from 19.6 percent five years ago, said Chochi, head of the regional telecommunications department.

The length of optical cable has doubled in five years to reach 114,000 kilometers. About 1.87 million households, or 59 percent of the total, are now able to use the Internet, he said.

The plateau region is known as "the roof of the world" due to its average altitude of over 4,000 meters, and building telecommunications infrastructure is difficult and costly.

Telecom operators lowered Internet costs in Tibet in 2015, boosting e-commerce.

The remote Ngari Prefecture is one of the most sparsely populated places in the world. People in the prefecture's Tsochen County started doing e-commerce in 2014.

"By the end of 2015, revenue from e-commerce topped 4.1 million yuan (about $629,800)," said Phubu Cering, head of the commerce bureau of Tsochen. The county's population was about 13,200.

"Nine people in the county registered on Alibaba's trading platform, Taobao, to sell Tibetan incense, beef and cashmere products," Phubu Cering added.

According to Chochi, the region will expand its 4G network in 2016.

 

[AndrewJin]

Internet reaches 80 percent of Tibet's villages
(Xinhua) Updated: 2016-01-04 19:06

People in Nyingchi county in Tibet autonomous region surf the Internet in this 2012 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]​

LHASA -- More than 80 percent of villages in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have access to the Internet, according to the latest statistics.

By the end of December 2015, 4,208 villages had broadband, accounting for 80 percent of the total, up from 19.6 percent five years ago, said Chochi, head of the regional telecommunications department.

The length of optical cable has doubled in five years to reach 114,000 kilometers. About 1.87 million households, or 59 percent of the total, are now able to use the Internet, he said.

The plateau region is known as "the roof of the world" due to its average altitude of over 4,000 meters, and building telecommunications infrastructure is difficult and costly.

Telecom operators lowered Internet costs in Tibet in 2015, boosting e-commerce.

The remote Ngari Prefecture is one of the most sparsely populated places in the world. People in the prefecture's Tsochen County started doing e-commerce in 2014.

"By the end of 2015, revenue from e-commerce topped 4.1 million yuan (about $629,800)," said Phubu Cering, head of the commerce bureau of Tsochen. The county's population was about 13,200.

"Nine people in the county registered on Alibaba's trading platform, Taobao, to sell Tibetan incense, beef and cashmere products," Phubu Cering added.

According to Chochi, the region will expand its 4G network in 2016.

Inclusive growth! I heard Sichuan has been the first province in the west having achieved 100% broadband internet access! Western Sichuan is even more geologically complicated to expand broadband network than Tibet.

 

[JSCh]

＂Yuxinou＂ Railway activates China's inland cross-border E-commerce market
Xinhua Finance 2016-01-05 14:50 BEIJING

"Yuxinou" Railway, a freight rail route linking southwest China-located Chongqing with Duisburg of Germany, is significantly activating China's inland cross-border E-commerce market.

Last week, a train carrying 40 tonnes of milk powder made in Denmark arrived in Chongqing and earlier in 2015, a renowned cross-border E-commerce operator - China.osell.com exported a batch of specialties from Chongqing and other places to Russia and west Europe.

Alongside regularized running of the two-way trains, Chinese inland-based cross-border E-commerce operators targeting the Europe and Central Asia markets are growing rapidly.

By the end of November 2015, E-commerce operators with record in Chongqing's industry and commerce authorities numbered 248 and businesses reported and completed 3.05 million transactions involving 715 million yuan of turnover via the public cross-border E-commerce platform.

 

[ahojunk]

Qinghai targets additional 7.1 GW of renewables in 2016
04 January 2016 | APPLICATIONS & INSTALLATIONS, MARKET & TRENDS, INVESTOR NEWS |
By: Vincent Shaw

Qinghai Electric Power, the sub-company of China’s State Grid Corporation aims to install 7.1 GW of renewable energy in 2016, the majority of which will comprise solar PV, up from the province’s cumulative capacity of 6 GW.

Qinghai Electric Power, which is in charge of all electric connections in Qinghai Province, has said total renewable energy installations there could reach up to 7.1 GW this year.

Accounting for 30% of total power installation in the western Chinese province, cumulative renewable capacity is currently sitting at 6.07 GW, of which 5.6 GW comprises ground-mounted solar PV. An additional 467 MW of wind has been installed, and 2.8 MW of distributed PV.

Qinghai Province, one of the most underdeveloped provinces in China, has a land area of 721,000 square kilometers, similar to the landmass of Holland and Belgium combined, but with a population of just six million. Due to favorable solar irradiation and abundant natural resources, it is optimal for renewable energy development, including solar PV, CSP and wind energy.

However, like other north and northwest provinces of China, which focus on the development of renewables, Qinghai faces the trouble that, along with new power installation, local power consumption is dropping and new grid construction is lacking. Qinghai Electric Power admitted these issues are possible barriers to further implementation, but insisted that renewable energy installs will continue to increase during the government’s thirteenth five year plan.

At the end of 2015, the Chinese Government set its national 2016 targets for renewables. Slightly lower than the 17.8 GW of new solar PV capacity planned for last year, the government anticipates just 15 GW this year. Cumulative capacity is said to be 40 GW; the target is to reach 150 GW by 2020.

The government will also cut solar PV FITS and add a 27% surcharge on to domestic energy bills (of around 0.019 yuan per kWh of electricity), according to Bloomberg, which quoted a report by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

 

[AndrewJin]

Number of giant pandas in China reaches 422(in captivity)
Panda cubs are carried to meet the press at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, Oct 24, 2015. China now has 422 giant pandas bred and living in captivity with a survival rate of about 88 percent, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) said Thursday. The country aims to increase the captive giant pandas population to 500 by 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

@Benign Persona @TruthSeeker

 

[TruthSeeker]

Bei Bei was shown to the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) today. FONZ Members contribute to the zoo, and especially to the Giant Panda program. My wife and I are FONZ Members but cannot go up to Washington right now. We plan to go see Bei Bei in a few weeks.

Zoo Members Get Exclusive Sneak Peek at Bei Bei

Privacy policy | More Newsletters

AP
Animal keeper Nicole MacCorkle holds Bei Bei, the National Zoo's newest panda and offspring of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, for members of the media at the National Zoo in Washington, Dec. 14, 2015.
Members of the National Zoo in Washington are getting an exclusive peek at panda cub Bei Bei.

The cub, who was born Aug. 22, is set to make his public debut Jan. 16, but zoo members can see him starting Friday. Visitors who want to see Bei Bei -- will have to show they have a current Friends of the National Zoo membership and a matching photo ID.

PHOTOS: Bei Bei Reaches New Levels of Cuteness

Bei Bei, born weighing just four ounces, is now about 21 pounds, keepers said this week. He is working on crawling and is learning to climb the rocks in his enclosure.

The cub is the third surviving offspring for parents Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who also live at the zoo along with their second cub, Bao Bao, who was born in 2013.

Bei Bei's twin brother died days after their birth, and Bao Bao's twin sister was stillborn. A single cub born in 2012 lived just a week.

Tian Tian and Mei Xiang's first surviving offspring, 10-year-old Tai Shan, lives in China.

Published at 5:18 AM EST on Jan 8, 2016