Iconic 20-yuan landscape goes zero-carbon

Restoring village views

The final piece of the puzzle lay across the river in Dahebei, an island-like village of 300 households situated directly inside the core scenic zone.

The village sits along the most scenic stretch of the Lijiang River. Yet this idyllic location, for all its beauty, once made power supply to Dahebei highly unreliable. In the past, electricity had to be carried across the river via overhead lines from Xingping, with utility poles strung along the water's edge disrupting the beauty of the view.

"Tourists once had to retouch their photos before sharing them online — carefully removing the utility poles and overhead wires that marred the view," said Zhang Qiaomu, head of the Xingping power supply station.

Long transmission distances, frequent faults and unstable voltage were even more practical headaches, he added.

In 2021, a joint initiative set out to remove the overhead lines entirely and transition Dahebei into a zero-carbon community. Because installing solar panels on the island would have ruined the pristine views, China Southern Power Grid routed green electricity directly through an upgraded grid network.

The transition required cultural change. Villagers who had cooked with firewood for generations were hesitant about switching to electric appliances. To build trust, the power grid ran a two-year pilot program allowing residents to try green electricity at standard rates.

"When we first started, I didn't even know what 'green electricity' meant," said Tang Cunxue, a village official.

"Green electricity is a little bit more expensive, but China Southern Power Grid agreed to let us try it at the same price," Tang said, adding that gradually the villagers came to embrace it.