Lanzhou's Highland Vegetable Boom: Stable Power Supply Ensures Production and Sales

Currently, in Yuzhong County, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, the first batch of highland vegetables is ready for harvest. Every day, around 2,000 tons of fresh vegetables are shipped to southern markets. Employees of the State Grid Lanzhou Electric Power Supply Company are working diligently to ensure a reliable power supply, supporting the bountiful summer harvest of highland vegetables.

Yuzhong County, located in the heart of the Loess Plateau, enjoys a cool climate ideal for growing green vegetables, often referred to as the "Capital of the Highland Vegetables." As the origin and core production area for Lanzhou's highland vegetables, Yuzhong County has become an important highland vegetables base in Gansu and even the entire northwest. Today, it also serves as a distribution center for vegetable transportation, supplying both eastern and southern markets. Additionally, the county has been selected as one of the first dedicated vegetable supply bases for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Yuzhong County's highland vegetables can be supplied continuously from now until early October, filling the gap in vegetable supply for the southeastern coastal regions during the summer. Currently, the county has built a total of 31,000 mu (approximately 2,066.67 hectares) of greenhouse facilities, with a vegetable preservation capacity of over 160,000 tons. In 2024, the county plans to cultivate more than 417,000 mu (approximately 27,800 hectares) of vegetables, expecting a yield of over 990,000 tons.

In recent years, Yuzhong County has made a great push for the cluster development of the entire highland vegetable supply chain, establishing a path of large-scale production, branding, environmental friendliness, and efficiency. Reliable and safe electricity supply, along with full-process efficient services, has provided comprehensive support for the highland vegetable cultivation industry.

To meet the electrical needs of local highland vegetable cultivation, State Grid Lanzhou Electric Power Supply Company has continuously upgraded the rural power grid in the area since 2020. This includes the construction and improvement of 558.12 kilometers of 10 kV power lines and 450.13 kilometers of 0.4 kV power lines, as well as the installation and upgrade of 686 distribution transformers with a total capacity of 126.1 MVA.

Yuzhong County cultivates over 30 varieties of vegetables, including celery, fioretto cauliflower, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bamboo shoots, and baby napa cabbage. In 2010, Yuzhong's napa cabbage, cabbage, and cauliflower received national geographical indication certification for agricultural products.

In June, at the Shuxin Cold Chain Agricultural Industry Development Co., Ltd. in Sanjiaocheng Village, Xiaguanying Town, hundreds of workers are busy sorting, cleaning, and pre-cooling the freshly harvested highland vegetables. Outside the workshop, large trucks from Guangdong, Hainan, Hubei, and other regions line up to load their preferred highland vegetables. Employees of the State Grid Lanzhou Electric Power Supply Company make regular visits to inspect the safety of the vegetable preservation facility's electrical supply and help eliminate any potential electrical hazards.

From cultivation to product sales, highland vegetables rely on electricity for various processes, including seedling cultivation, irrigation, fertilization, harvesting, and preservation.

To further support the local highland vegetable industry, employees of the State Grid Lanzhou Electric Power Supply Company visit the planting bases during critical periods of production, harvest and sales. To help farmers eliminate safety hazards, they inspect power lines, irrigation equipment, leakage protection devices, and switches. They also provide 24-hour service, distribute educational materials on electrical safety and explain safety precautions to farmers, addressing practical electricity-related issues. Additionally, they establish service records for specialty processing enterprises, refine power supply measures, and allocate grid personnel in different zones to clarify diversified market needs and tailor specific power supply services. On top of developing seasonal and production peak power supply guarantee plans and dealing with new connections for enterprises, grid personnel also analyze and compare enterprise electricity consumption and load during peak periods based on data in the marketing management system, helping businesses save energy and ensuring safe and reliable electricity supply for specialty industries.

Furthermore, State Grid Lanzhou Electric Power Supply Company has enhanced the "Village and Grid Co-construction" service model that features "government-enterprise collaboration, town-village implementation, proactive and onsite service, co-construction and sharing." By establishing partnerships between power supply company party branches and village party branches, it integrates power supply services into comprehensive local services of the counties, townships, villages and communities, ensuring efficient handling of internal electrical faults for customers.

Today, Lanzhou's highland vegetables, labeled with the tag of "Ganwei (Gansu Flavor)," are not only a culinary delight for local residents but also contribute to moderate prosperity in the journey of rural revitalization. They grace dining tables across the country, embodying the happiness of abundance. (Text/Photo by Shi Shuangxuan)