Three decades of collaboration between Fujian and Ningxia have seen persistent efforts and deepening ties across mountains and seas. This partnership has now achieved a historic shift from one-way assistance to two-way mutual benefit, becoming a model for cooperation between eastern and western regions of China.
Collaborative Wins Forge Two-Way Strengthening of 3D Printing Technology Supply Chains
In Nan'an, Fujian, a foundry 3D printing technology enterprise from Ningxia has established a presence, complementing the local mechanical equipment industrial chain and yielding fruitful results. This extends the Fujian-Ningxia collaboration to the co-building of industrial supply chains.
Inside the workshop of the National Intelligent Casting Industry Innovation (Quanzhou) Center in Xiamet Town, Nan'an City, Quanzhou, staff are calibrating two casting 3D printing machines. Once operational, the number of 3D printers in this smart factory will increase from six to eight, boosting production capacity. The products printed here are molds for cast products, which can replace traditional mold-making. Casting 3D printing technology significantly compresses the mold preparation cycle, and this is a core technology of Ningxia's Shared Group.
Headquartered in Yinchuan, Ningxia, Shared Group possesses leading fully intelligent factories for casting 3D printing. Quanzhou City boasts a complete mechanical equipment industrial chain with an output value exceeding one hundred billion yuan. Benefiting from the "Fujian-Ningxia Collaboration," the high-end manufacturing expertise from inland Ningxia has deeply integrated with the dynamic energy of the southeastern coast. Shared Group established its then-newest generation of intelligent casting 3D factory in Nan'an, commencing operations in March 2023.
"Speed" is the defining feature of this 10,000-ton-capacity fully intelligent casting 3D printing factory. It not only addresses pain points of traditional processes but also enables "flexible production," meeting enterprise needs for small batches, complex components, and customization. Shi Qingming's team is currently discussing product design with a company that manufactures machine tools for processing aero-engine blades. The two factories are located within the same industrial park, just 400 meters apart. Since 2023, this enterprise has consistently ordered 3D printed products.
Fujian's well-developed mechanical equipment industrial chain not only brings orders but also provides more application scenarios, which in turn drives technological advancement and application of intelligent manufacturing at Ningxia Shared Group.
East-West Collaboration Builds an "Intelligent Nest" for Complementary Development
Guided by the Fujian-Ningxia partnership, Ningxia is building nests to attract phoenixes and expanding the platform for east-west cooperation. This not only attracts eastern enterprises to take root but also helps local companies expand nationwide. East-west collaboration is transitioning from one-way assistance to two-way mutual benefit.
This is Ningxia's Minning Town, where three decades of east-west cooperation have cultivated new growth on this land. These are "high-quality tomatoes" produced at a smart agriculture base. Why are they called "high-quality"? Inside the smart greenhouse, when light, temperature, and humidity reach preset values, drip arrows automatically activate, delivering nutrient solution precisely to the roots of each tomato plant, achieving integrated water and fertilizer management. Roof vents open and close automatically based on temperature, boiler exhaust is recycled to become a "carbon source" for the tomatoes, and rainwater is also collected and reused, enhancing both environmental sustainability and yield.
Through comprehensive intelligent control of temperature, light, water, air, and fertilizer, the optimal growing environment for tomatoes is created here, enabling year-round supply. Why did such an enterprise choose to establish itself in Minning Town? Zhang Xulong, head of the Smart Agriculture Industrial Park, stated that the primary reasons are the favorable natural environment in Ningxia, with ample sunlight and good synchronization of temperature and light. Additionally, local government support for their project has been particularly strong, offering tangible benefits in land use and natural gas pricing.
This enterprise from Shandong not only grows excellent tomatoes but also provides stable jobs "right at the doorstep" for the residents of Minning Town.
We use electricity every day, but transmission lines strung high in the air face numerous challenges. Bird interference, ice accumulation, and strong winds, while seemingly minor, are significant hazards that can cause line faults. In ensuring stable power supply, a Ningxia-based enterprise has developed its own unique technology.
This is a company dedicated to power transmission safety and is the first domestic firm to produce integrated protective insulation devices. The integrated protective insulation devices they developed specifically address issues like bird interference and wind-induced conductor swing that frequently cause faults, making grid operation safer and more reliable. Furthermore, the company has independently developed insulator inspection robots that operate via drone deployment, ensuring both safety and efficiency.
Today, these products and devices have moved beyond Ningxia, being tested in broader markets. Tomatoes from the east have taken root in Minning Town; robots starting from Ningxia safeguard power grids in the east and other regions. "Coming in" and "going out" represent not just a two-way flow of industry but a vivid illustration of east-west collaboration, and this path continues to extend further.
Minning Town: From "A Single Power Pole" to a "Green Power Benchmark"
In recent years, Minning Town has gained a new identity – "Green Power Town." By the end of 2024, it had become the first town in northwest China to achieve 24-hour green power supply. How did this immigrant town, rising from "dry sand beaches," transform step by step into a "green power benchmark"?
With gearboxes and yaw systems exposed, trainees gather around a disassembled wind turbine for a lesson. Nearby, energy storage and power transformation equipment from different eras and employing different technological pathways are within reach. This is not a science museum but the largest and most functionally comprehensive new energy training school in northwest China.
The practical training base was built in this town, precisely because of Minning Town's substantial "wind and solar resource foundation." Yet, Minning Town was not always this "resourceful." Wang Ruifang is the longest-serving employee at the Minning Town Power Supply Station, having been stationed there since its establishment in 1997, working for nearly 30 years. She still remembers the early days.
Wang Ruifang, an employee at the Minning Town Power Supply Station, described the harsh conditions back then: "No birds flew in the sky, no grass grew on the ground." Later, the government built a water tower in the town, which required electricity for pumping. The power department erected the first utility pole right next to the tower. With electricity and water, people could settle and live properly.
A single power pole brought electricity, enabled water pumping, and kept people there. The turning point from "having electricity is enough" to "green power benchmark" occurred on the rooftops of Yuanlong Village. This is the largest ecological migration village in Minning Town, where the rooftops of all 1,922 households are equipped with photovoltaic panels. The deep blue panels are arranged in orderly rows, creating a unique landscape.
With an average of 3,000 hours of sunshine annually, this gift of nature allows residents to truly feel that "sunlight can also earn money." Beyond residents' own rooftops, many villages in Minning Town have leased idle land to build more "sunlight savings accounts." People have also started planting and breeding under the photovoltaic panels, earning dual benefits from a single plot of land, achieving a win-win for both ecology and livelihood.
On the barren sandy land around Minning Town, wind turbines stand tall, complementing the solar power. However, renewable energy has an inherent challenge: no sun at night, and wind may cease. Where does the electricity come from then? Minning Town's solution is a "super power bank."
Having a "power bank" alone is not enough; precise dispatch is the core. A self-developed "Source-Grid-Load-Storage Coordination Control System" was first applied here. Relying on every photovoltaic panel from rooftops to wastelands, every wind turbine, along with a "super power bank" and an intelligent "dispatch brain," Minning Town's "Green Power Town," fully established in 2024, has delivered solid results.
It supplies 566 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually, saves over 69,500 tons of standard coal, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 192,700 tons, and achieves a new energy utilization efficiency exceeding 95%. This "Green Power Town" also presented a grassroots, vivid example from a small town in northwest China for global "dual carbon" goals at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Comments