Sun shines on development of Qinghai's power sector

"When historians look back at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, they will say that the most important thing to happen was not the Great Recession, but China's Green Leap Forward," Thomas Friedman wrote in his New York Times column after a visit to China in 2010.

If that proves true, the Green Leap Forward's frontier will be in Qinghai, a northwestern province that is on track to be the country's largest solar power generation base.

"Qinghai has the most abundant solar energy resources second only to Tibet. Combined with other conditions, Qinghai has the best comprehensive conditions for solar power generation," Xu Fushun, deputy governor of Qinghai province, said at the recently concluded Qinghai Green Economy Trade and Investment Fair.