{"id":79654,"date":"2025-11-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=79654"},"modified":"2025-11-14T09:05:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T08:05:42","slug":"powering-change-a-visual-journey-into-chinas-green-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/79654\/powering-change-a-visual-journey-into-chinas-green-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"Powering change: a visual journey into China\u2019s green transition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In September 2025, Greenpeace East Asia\u2019s Beijing office presented the exhibition Lighting the Future: People\u2019s Hope and Power in China\u2019s Green Energy Future at the 25th Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIP). Curated by Na Risong, Art Director of Image Gallery, and featuring photographer Chu Weimin<\/a>, the exhibition showcased aerial photographs of China\u2019s renewable energy landscape\u2014solar farms, wind turbines, and hybrid energy projects\u2014alongside stories of people and communities living amid the country\u2019s massive energy transformation. The exhibition drew widespread attention, receiving<\/a> both the PIP Outstanding Photographer Award and the Outstanding Curator Award.
<\/p>\n\n

A new kind of landscape<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
\"Lighting
Liupanshui, Guizhou Province, \u200b\u200bthe Ming Dynasty Huguo Temple and wind turbines in the Distant Mountains, April 2024\u200b \/
\u00a9 Weimin Chu<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Stepping into the exhibition hall, visitors were first greeted by a breathtaking photograph: a temple perched high in the mountains, framed by the rhythmic silhouettes of wind turbines \u2014 an image that seems to merge past and future, nature and technology.<\/p>\n\n

Photographer Chu Weimin has spent the past three years documenting China\u2019s clean energy transition using drones. His most striking images resemble Chinese traditional Shanshui ink paintings \u2014 mountains and clouds now joined by rows of turbines. In these surreal, poetic landscapes, wind farms rise from mountains like brushstrokes and an ancient temple stands quietly against a backdrop of renewable infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n

\"Lighting
Lenghu, Qinghai Province, with tourists at the Heidu Mountain Scenic Area and nearby wind turbines, June 2023.
\u00a9 Weimin Chu<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

\u201cI started out just shooting landscapes,\u201d Chu recalls. \u201cBut when I traveled to places like Guizhou, Yunnan, and Qinghai in 2022, I kept seeing wind farms and solar power plants appear in my camera frame. I realized this is the story of our time \u2014 and almost no one is documenting it in a systematic way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Seeing from above<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
\"Lighting
Dunhuang, Gansu Province: Developing a unique tourism experience in the photovoltaic industrial park, June 2023.
\u00a9 Weimin Chu<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

For Chu, drone photography was essential. \u201cFrom the ground, it\u2019s hard to grasp the scale of these power plants,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut when you rise into the air, you can see the geometry, the rhythm \u2014 and their relationship with the mountains, the desert, the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

His project deliberately spans diverse terrains, ranging from the deserts of Qinghai to the coasts of Zhejiang and the rural villages of Shandong. In Gansu\u2019s abandoned copper mine, wind turbines now rise next to a hillside temple built decades ago by miners praying for safety. In Ningbo\u2019s tidal flats, rows of solar panels coexist with fishing boats. In rural Shandong, villagers install rooftop solar to power their homes \u2014 and even their electric scooters.<\/p>\n\n

Stories beneath the surface<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
\"Lighting
The 2.42MW photovoltaic power generation project, which was invested in by Zhanzong New Energy Co., Ltd from Binzhou, Shandong Province.
\u00a9 Weimin Chu<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Beyond the monumental landscapes, China\u2019s energy transition is also reshaping livelihoods and local economies. According to recent research, the clean energy sector has become one of the most dynamic engines of national growth, contributing nearly 40% of GDP growth in 2023.<\/p>\n\n

Chu\u2019s photographs capture glimpses of this transformation at the human scale. In Shandong, villagers install rooftop solar panels that not only power their homes but also generate extra income. \u201cMany of the farmers told me their electricity bills have dropped to almost nothing,\u201d Chu recalls. \u201cSome even use solar power to charge their scooters or run small workshops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

These scenes\u2014quiet yet profound\u2014reflect how renewable energy is no longer just a national project of heavy industry, but something deeply connected to people\u2019s everyday lives.<\/p>\n\n

\"Lighting
Tala Desert, Qinghai Province: Solar power is used to transform the barren land into grassland. The herders raise \u201cPhotovoltaic sheep\u201d to prevent the grass from growing too tall, June 2025.
\u00a9 Weimin Chu<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

In places like Qinghai\u2019s Tala Desert, Chu also observed how solar projects can reshape ecosystems. Panels reduce heat and wind, allowing grasses to regrow beneath them. In partnership with herders, sheep graze under the panels, turning the site into a working landscape.<\/p>\n\n

Energy transition at human scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
\"Lighting
Pan Xinzeng, a villager from Panjia Village, Binzhou, Shandong Province, installed a 43.32KW photovoltaic power station at his home.
\u00a9 Weimin Chu<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

While his photographs center on landscapes, Chu\u2019s travels also brought him into contact with people living within this transformation. Some villagers welcome solar projects as new sources of income \u2014 working as security staff, leasing land, or installing panels for household use. Others express concerns about noise or misconceptions about radiation. \u201cPeople\u2019s reactions are complex,\u201d Chu notes. \u201cThis is real change happening on the ground, and not everyone experiences it the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Shanshui for a new era<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

What makes Chu\u2019s work distinctive is not just what he photographs, but how he frames it. Drawing inspiration from classical Chinese Shanshui painting, he overlays a traditional visual language onto modern infrastructure. He enhances tones and textures to evoke the feeling of ink on paper, but without altering the underlying reality of the images.<\/p>\n\n

\"Lighting
Lenghu, Qinghai Province: The ink-wash-like Heidu Mountain Scenic Area and the wind power station, June 2023.
\u00a9 Weimin Chu<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

\u201cShanshui paintings aren\u2019t just about describing landscapes,\u201d Chu says. \u201cThey\u2019re about harmony between humans and nature. But today, harmony doesn\u2019t mean returning to a pre-industrial world. It means finding new ways for human development and the environment to coexist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In this sense, Chu\u2019s \u201cnew Shanshui\u201d embodies the very spirit of the exhibition title. In his images, mountains, turbines, and sunlight flow together like brushstrokes in motion \u2014 revealing a nation\u2019s search for balance between people and planet, tradition and innovation.<\/p>\n\n

A future seen today<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Greenpeace has a long history of collaborating with photographers to document China\u2019s energy story\u2014from coal pollution to community solutions. This year\u2019s exhibition marks a new chapter: a nation in the midst of the world’s largest clean energy transition.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe want to show the world that China\u2019s energy future is not just about heavy industry or government megaprojects,\u201d says Zhang Kai, Deputy Program Director of Greenpeace East Asia. \u201cIt\u2019s also about landscapes, communities, and people\u2019s everyday lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Chu plans to continue documenting the evolution of China\u2019s energy transition \u2014 exploring new storage technologies, emerging landscapes, and the changing relationship between people and energy.<\/p>\n\n

His lens doesn\u2019t just capture infrastructure. It offers a glimpse of what a low-carbon future might look like\u2014not decades from now, but already unfolding across China\u2019s deserts, coasts, and villages today.<\/p>\n\n

Qilin Liu is an International Communications Officer for Greenpeace East Asia, based in Beijing.<\/em>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s exhibition marks a new chapter: a nation in the midst of the world’s largest clean energy transition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":212,"featured_media":79656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[65],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-79654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-energy-revolution","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/212"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79654"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79753,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79654\/revisions\/79753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79654"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=79654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}