STORY: Megaproject powers clean energy shift in China's Xinjiang
DATELINE: Sept. 12, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:02
LOCATION: URUMQI, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST: 
1. various of village in Taklimakan
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): SPIREMUHAN BAWUDONG, Resident of Darya Boyi Village
3. various of new settlement
4. various of residents using natural gas
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): SPIREMUHAN BAWUDONG, Resident of Darya Boyi Village
6. various of natural gas pipeline projects in Xinjiang
7. various of Xinjiang

STORYLINE:

For centuries, people in Darya Boyi, a village located at the heart of the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, have established their home along the banks of the Keriya River, sustaining generations by relying solely on poplar logs and red willow tree branches for cooking and heating.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): SPIREMUHAN BAWUDONG, Resident of Darya Boyi Village
"In the past, whenever I cooked, my tears came due to the choking smoke."

In 2017, the first group of 396 people, which included 100 children, moved into the new settlement located approximately 110 km away from the old location.

By 2019, the entire village was relocated.

Thanks to a major project that began 10 years ago, more than 4,700 km of pipelines now crisscross southern Xinjiang, allowing Spiremuhan Bawudong and over 8 million others to bid farewell to traditional "dirty" fuel such as firewood and coal and march into a cleaner and safer natural gas era.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): SPIREMUHAN BAWUDONG, Resident of Darya Boyi Village
"Now, natural gas and tap water are available in the kitchen, which makes cooking easier and faster."

The price of natural gas in southern Xinjiang is generally below one yuan (about 0.14 U.S. dollars) per cubic meter owing to its geographic proximity to resources and the support of preferential policies.

In July, Xinjiang signed a cooperation agreement with PetroChina to expand the natural gas pipeline projects in 10 prefectures covering a total length of 4,977 km. 

These ever-expanding pipelines are expected to bring prosperity to more people in the region.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Urumqi, China.
(XHTV)