In the heart of the Qinghai plateau during high summer, the orderly operation of a 'solar-storage-charging' integrated parking lot at the entrance of Banyan Village, Qinghai's first 'zero-carbon village', provides green charging services for new energy vehicles. Neatly arranged photovoltaic panels on the village's open spaces and pigsty roofs are outputting clean electricity.

On July 28, a reporter followed the 2026 'Infinite Scenery of Chinese-style Modernization' Online Influencer Qinghai Tour to Banyan Village in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, Haidong City, Qinghai Province, to experience the rural revitalization story of a former impoverished village that 'harnesses solar wealth and strives for green growth.'

Banyan Village, located in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County—the only Tu autonomous county in China—has a name that means 'a place of wealth and happiness.' 'The village has a total population of 1,454 people, with the Tu ethnic group accounting for up to 98%, making it a highly distinctive Tu ethnic settlement,' said Li Shengbao, Secretary of the Banyan Village Party Branch. He noted that Banyan Village was once a typical deeply impoverished village, plagued by poor transportation, limited resources, a lack of industry, and no avenues for villagers to increase their income.

In April 2016, Huzhu County initiated the construction of the new Banyan Village relocation site. By March 2017, the relocation of 129 households comprising 484 people had been successfully completed. Villagers left their dilapidated old homes, moved into new, livable residences, and completely broke free from the constraints of the deep mountains. By the end of that year, the entire village had achieved comprehensive poverty alleviation.

For Banyan Village, the core of subsequent development was how to ensure that villagers could move out, stay settled, and become prosperous. To solve the problem of industrial development, Huzhu County formed a professional team to conduct field research in Banyan Village and diagnose the situation. Considering the village's abundant plateau solar thermal resources and unique terrain, they established a distinctive development path centered on green photovoltaic empowerment and coordinated multi-industry development, injecting green momentum into the village's transformation.

Since 2017, Banyan Village has taken the lead in deploying the photovoltaic industry, building a 2-megawatt photovoltaic power station. In 2022, the village upgraded its initiative by launching the construction of a full green electricity, zero-carbon energy internet demonstration village. By building supporting facilities such as distributed photovoltaics, user-side energy storage, and small-scale biomass power plants, and establishing an integrated source-grid-load-storage smart energy management and control platform, they created a grid-connected microgrid operating on a 'self-generation, surplus power fed to the grid' model. This resulted in a new type of village-level power system providing full-time green power supply.

Li Shengbao explained that the zero-carbon energy system can generate over 30,000 RMB in additional income for the village collective annually, and each household in the village can stably obtain 2,500 RMB in photovoltaic income per year, with a 20-year welfare cycle. In 2025, the village's green electricity consumption reached 800,000 kWh, equivalent to reducing coal consumption by 98 tons and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 261 tons. Clean energy has transformed the traditional lifestyle of the villagers.

The days of burning wheat straw and crop stalks for heating and cooking have disappeared. Electric heated beds have replaced traditional brick beds (kang), and natural gas now covers every household. Relying on the integrated 'photovoltaic + energy storage + sewage treatment' demonstration project, the village's sewage treatment problem has been completely solved. Clean, low-carbon, and ecologically livable have become the defining characteristics of the new life in Banyan Village.

Building on the foundation of green energy, Banyan Village has deeply tapped into its local intangible cultural heritage resources, revitalized its rural cultural tourism potential, and cultivated diverse wealth-generating industries. Leveraging the national intangible cultural heritage of Tu ethnic embroidery, it established a distinctive embroidery industrial park, transforming an ancient craft into a 'fingertip economy' that increases income and prosperity. In the embroidery park, Tu women sit with colored threads, head bowed in focused embroidery. Between the rising and falling of their needles, layered sunflowers gradually take shape.

In recent years, the embroidery park has trained over 370 embroiderers, attracted 145 industrial households, and undertaken 75,000 orders of various types, with a total order income of 3 million RMB. Products are now exported to European and American markets, and the average annual income of embroiderers has increased by over 7,000 RMB. Simultaneously, the village has established 13 business entities, including Banyan Ecological Farm, Happy Valley, Jungle Exploration Base, and a BBQ Campsite. It has launched an integrated tourism package featuring 'folk-custom dining + accommodation + fruit picking + outdoor adventure.' Households with better performance have seen their annual income exceed 120,000 RMB.

The coordinated efforts of multiple industries have enabled Banyan Village to achieve leapfrog development. In 2015, the per capita net income of villagers was only 2,600 RMB; by 2025, it had climbed to 20,105 RMB, an increase of nearly eight times. The village's collective accumulated economic income has surpassed 4.5 million RMB. Thanks to its outstanding transformation results, the Banyan Village energy transition poverty alleviation case was selected for the 2022 Global Best Poverty Reduction Case Library. In September 2024, it was successfully recognized as Qinghai's first 'zero-carbon village.'

From a deeply impoverished mountain village to a zero-carbon revitalization demonstration village, from relocation for resettlement to diverse industries for prosperity, Banyan Village has taken green as its foundation, culture as its soul, and industry as its support. It has forged a new path of rural revitalization characterized by a beautiful ecology, thriving industries, and prosperous villagers.