From a stretch of arid Gobi, to an oasis nourished by Yellow River water, to a “cloud-based” new town powered by green energy and computing, Minning township in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region captures a transformation that reshaped destinies. Once constrained by the droughts in Xihaigu, the relocated residents have reshaped their destiny.
From Xihaigu to Minning
Minning's story began with a large-scale relocation. In the past, the Xihaigu area of Ningxia suffered from prolonged drought and was considered unfit for human habitation. Starting in 1997, under the framework of Fujian-Ningxia pairing cooperation, batches of residents moved out of Xihaigu and built new homes on the barren Gobi. That pairing-cooperation mechanism was one Xi Jinping helped establish during his time working in Fujian.
The turning point of Yellow River water
What truly brought the land to life was water. As Yellow River water was channeled in, the former Gobi gained the conditions for agriculture and industry. Mushroom cultivation and wine grapes gradually took off, and wine from the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains gave the area a new calling card. Water became the catalyst for economic transformation.
From the Gobi to the cloud
Today, Minning's story is turning a new page. Drawing on abundant local green energy and steadily improving computing infrastructure, this once-barren Gobi town is growing toward the digital economy, working to make itself a new hub in the cloud. From barren land to the technological frontier, the transformation continues.
From the Gobi to the cloud, Minning's change is no accident. It is the combined result of relocation, pairing cooperation and sustained development, and it shows that when policy, resources and human effort come together, even land once thought hopeless can grow new possibilities.
