Blue photovoltaic panels gleam on rooftops, continuously supplying the village with green electricity.
Rows of solar-powered streetlights line the pathways, illuminating the way home.
In homes, electric cooking appliances have replaced traditional stoves, leading to tidy, ash-free kitchens and efficient meal preparation, significantly enhancing the quality of life for residents.
With the support of green power, Bajiao Village in Lishan Yi Township, Tonghai County, has undergone a "zero-carbon transformation," becoming the only village in Yunnan selected for the China Zero-Carbon Village Promotion Project.
Bajiao Village is situated in a low-latitude mountainous area, with the Yi ethnic group comprising 96% of its population and an average annual sunshine duration of 2,290 hours.
For a long time, the traditional production and lifestyle reliant on firewood and coal constrained the village's ecological development and quality of life.
In 2023, the China Zero-Carbon Village Promotion Project, jointly promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme with support from the Global Environment Facility, was implemented in Bajiao Village, initiating its path toward zero-carbon transition.
Based on local conditions, Bajiao Village established a targeted carbon reduction technology system, focusing on residential life, agricultural production, energy supply, cultural and tourism integration, and village appearance enhancement.
The village systematically advanced multiple projects, including electrified living, distributed photovoltaics, zero-carbon tobacco curing, photovoltaic irrigation, and an energy management center, striving to create a zero-carbon village model characterized by widespread renewable energy application, low-carbon efficiency, and cultural-tourism integration.
As zero-carbon development deepened, an integrated photovoltaic-storage-direct-current-flexibility (P-S-D-F) comprehensive energy system was established in Bajiao Village.
This system combines photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, DC power distribution, and intelligent control.
To accommodate the project's operation mode of self-generation for self-use, surplus electricity feed-in, and 0.4-kilovolt low-voltage grid connection, the Tonghai Power Supply Bureau of Yuxi, Yunnan, under China Southern Power Grid, took precise measures.
It comprehensively optimized and upgraded the village's distribution network structure, renovated old lines, and debugged power equipment, overcoming challenges related to new energy grid integration to ensure the stable and efficient connection of photovoltaic power generation and energy storage systems to the main grid.
Furthermore, within Bajiao Village's Zero-Carbon Science Popularization Complex Exhibition Hall, a nationally leading P-S-D-F system and zero-carbon energy management platform operate 24/7.
Data on photovoltaic power generation, charging pile operation, and streetlight status are monitored in real-time and clearly displayed, achieving visual and intelligent zero-carbon management.
"We have updated 140 households with integrated smoke-exhausting electric cooking stoves, and the kitchens in six village groups have also been equipped with induction cookers," said Pu Yu, Secretary of the Bajiao Village Party Branch.
"After reducing the use of firewood and coal, not only have villagers' living expenses decreased noticeably, but kitchens have also become cleaner and more hygienic."
He added that the zero-carbon construction for Bajiao Group One is now complete, with the group's electricity needs fully self-sufficient.
The monthly surplus electricity fed into the grid also brings a stable income of approximately 2,000 yuan to the village collective economy.
Energy-saving transformations in the fields are equally impressive.
Six uniquely shaped "photovoltaic trees" are rooted at the village entrance, with ten photovoltaic panels on each tree's branches providing clean energy for water pumps.
This system transports well water through pipelines to farmlands over ten kilometers away.
Tobacco curing barns, renovated with biomass pellet furnaces and air-source heat pump electrification, have won praise from tobacco farmers.
"Curing tobacco no longer requires burning coal; it saves labor and costs, and is cleaner and more efficient," said Pu Chuanfa, head of the Wuliqing group.
During the project's implementation, villagers also became participants and beneficiaries.
Bajiao Village organized a Yi ethnic zero-carbon publicity team to explain policies, such as straw recycling subsidies and photovoltaic profit distribution, in the Yi language, which was well-received by the community.
Data shows that from January 2024 to June 2025, Bajiao Village's cumulative photovoltaic feed-in electricity reached 110,000 kilowatt-hours, increasing the village collective economy's income by nearly 40,000 yuan.
Through implementing transformations like firewood and coal reduction, each household achieved a reduction of 0.5 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, yielding both environmental and economic benefits.
Currently, the five-year demonstration site construction for the China Zero-Carbon Village Promotion Project is steadily advancing in Bajiao Village, with more zero-carbon measures to be integrated into local production and daily life.
The zero-carbon project will serve as a comprehensive platform integrating technological advancement, ecological protection, livelihood improvement, and rural revitalization, bringing more encouraging green transformations to this Yi ethnic village.
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