As generative AI and large language model technologies advance rapidly, computing power resources are in soaring demand to support model training, inference, and data labeling tasks. Recently, reporters visited Zhongwei City in Ningxia, a small city on the edge of the desert that has transformed into a significant computing hub.

Zhongwei is China's first "dual-center" city, simultaneously hosting a new type of internet exchange hub and a national hub node for the integrated computing power network. According to Meng Fanzhen, director of the Zhongwei Data Bureau office, the city's data center cluster has attracted cumulative investments exceeding 60 billion yuan, established 10 large-scale data center industrial parks, and achieved a national ranking of fifth among 302 cities for its computing power sub-index in 2025.

So how did this small northwestern city, adjacent to the desert, become a major computing base? Data centers are notorious for high electricity consumption, with power costs accounting for roughly 50% to 70% of operational expenses, making energy a key competitive factor. Zhongwei boasts abundant wind and solar resources, and its new energy utilization rate of 94% ranks first in northwest China. The ultimate driver of computing power is electricity, and data centers require 99.999% reliability in power supply, necessitating large and stable energy sources. In May 2026, China's first large-scale "computing-power synergy" project will officially begin operations, building wind and solar farms near data centers for unified development and distribution of renewable energy.

CHINA MOBILE's Ningxia Zhongwei data center is the first to connect to this project, serving as its initial validation case. Meng Fanzhen noted that this synergy will act as a "ballast stone" for green electricity supply and pricing advantages, achieving 100% green power usage and stabilizing electricity prices below 0.36 yuan per kilowatt-hour, pushing Zhongwei's computing industry toward "low-carbon and low-cost" goals.

Zhongwei's climate also enables natural cooling for data centers. With an average annual temperature of just 8.8°C and a dry, rainless climate, natural outdoor air can exchange heat with server room air for about 80% of the year. For instance, CHINA MOBILE's data center has reduced its power usage effectiveness (PUE) from 1.35 in 2018 to 1.2 now, meaning only 0.2 kWh of additional power is needed for cooling per 1 kWh used for computing. To meet growing business demands, construction efficiency has improved. Using steel structures instead of traditional steel-reinforced concrete, CHINA MOBILE has shortened construction timelines from 36 months to 8 months, overcoming winter delays. In the second half of this year, five more server buildings at this data center will be delivered and put into operation to handle computing power needs.

These advantages have attracted seven major internet companies to set up operations in Zhongwei: Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, Meituan, Kingsoft, and JD.com. Shen Jiahui, network department manager at CHINA MOBILE's Ningxia Zhongwei data center, explained that companies can place their servers in the facility without large upfront investments or staffing for maintenance. "We handle electricity, cooling, and equipment repairs, charging only for services on demand. It saves both money and worry," she said. After the boom in AI business, customer demand for computing power has surged, and new server buildings are still rising behind her.