A major computing power hub is emerging on the Loess Plateau.
The investment community's city showcase today takes us to Qingyang, located at the junction of the Loess Plateau and the Longdong Basin. This traditional energy city is undergoing an unprecedented industrial transformation.
In China's economic landscape, western cities are often regarded as "chasers." However, for Qingyang, a major northwestern city once relying on oil and coal as its economic pillars, it is quietly becoming a key hub in China's computing power map and forging a new path for the transformation of resource-based cities, thanks to the national strategy of "Eastern Data Processing with Western Computing."
What the outside world may not know is that AI companies such as Enflame Technology, Zhipu AI, Baichuan Intelligence, Darkside of the Moon, and Jieyue Xingchen; chip companies like Moore Threads and Days Intelligence; and artificial intelligence ecosystem enterprises including Hongxin Electronics, Kingsoft Cloud, and Asiainfo Data have all settled in Qingyang.
A Computing Power Revolution
With the explosive growth of global AI computing power demand, this small western city has emerged as one of the eight major computing power hub nodes in the country.
Relying on the rich advantages of renewable energy such as wind and solar power, Qingyang has built a national data center cluster for "Eastern Data Processing with Western Computing." As of August 2025, Qingyang's computing power scale has exceeded 66,000 PFlops and is expected to break through the 100,000 P mark by the end of the year, ranking among the first echelon of the national computing power clusters. More than 300 digital economy enterprises have gathered here, half of which are leading enterprises in the field of artificial intelligence.
The "Eastern Data Processing with Western Computing" Industrial Park of the National Data Center Cluster (Gansu · Qingyang)
Walking into Qingyang's data industrial park, more than 200 enterprises such as China Energy Engineering Group and Kingsoft Cloud have settled here. Projects like Huawei's Rendering Cloud and JD Logistics Cloud's "Ten Clouds" are being implemented. Qingyang issues 100 million yuan worth of computing power vouchers annually, directly reducing the R & D costs of enterprises by 30%. This policy has also attracted companies like Zhipu AI and SenseTime to build large - model training bases here.
The layout map of Qingyang's Big Data Center Cluster
In the chessboard of computing power infrastructure, Qingyang made its move long ago. Since 2023, more than 10 companies, including China Telecom, China Mobile, China Energy Engineering Group, Enflame Technology, and Chindata Group, have successively come to Qingyang for investment and implementation:
Six intelligent computing centers, including the first - phase project of China Telecom, the N01 and N02 of the second - phase project of China Mobile, the A1 of China Energy Engineering Group, and Qingyang Cloud Innovation, have been completed and put into operation;
Enflame Technology's first domestic computing power cluster with ten thousand graphics processing units has formed computing power network "pairs" with 18 cities such as Nanjing;
The Baidu Smart Cloud Qianfan Big Model Empowerment Innovation Center and the JD Digital Economy Industrial Park have been launched;
Yitian Smart participates in the AI computing power business of Qingyang's data center cluster through its subsidiary Gansu Yisuan;
...
New Race Track
Qingyang is also looking up to the sky.
In 2024, with the approval of the national urban air traffic management pilot, Qingyang successively introduced enterprises such as China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation, China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation, Yitong UAV, Super Maher, EHang Intelligence, and Tianjin Zhongke Huihang. The Hecheng Industrial Park in Ningxian County has become a low - altitude economy industrial base with an investment of 5.75 billion yuan.
The "No. 001" UAV of Super Maher Company, the 3D printing technology of turbine engines by Lianjing Additive Manufacturing, and the data cable support of Fanlian Electronics have made Qingyang the first "low - altitude economy city" in the province, seizing the opportunity in fields such as UAV logistics and emergency rescue. In 2025, Qingyang also hosted some events of the 2025 Digital China Innovation Contest · Low - altitude Economy Track.
Currently, the Hecheng Industrial Park in Ningxian County, Qingyang, has formed a closed - loop UAV industrial chain, gathering supporting enterprises such as turbine engine manufacturing, 3D - printed parts production, and data cable supply. Projects such as the Zhongke Huihang's production line of ten thousand UAVs and Lianjing Additive's 108 3D printing production lines are accelerating, and large - scale mass production is expected to be achieved this year.
Breaking Through with Fresh Water
Qingyang's industrial breakthrough cannot be achieved without the in - depth participation of industrial funds. In 2024, Qingyang established a 1 - billion - yuan industrial development guidance fund to focus on supporting emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and low - altitude economy. Through the "finance + finance" model, this fund has attracted social capital participation. Sub - funds, including the Gansu Longxin Zhaorong Industrial Development Fund with a scale of 5 billion yuan and the Gansu Hexin Zero - carbon Intelligent Computing Power Industry Investment Fund with a scale of 502 million yuan, have been launched, leveraging over 10 billion yuan of social capital.
In August 2024, Zhonghe Technology announced the joint investment with partners such as the Gansu Longxin Zhaorong Industrial Development Fund and Shanghai Wuwen Xinqiong to establish a smart computing power industry investment fund to promote the construction of the spatio - temporal big data cloud center project in Qingyang, Gansu. The fund has a scale of 502 million yuan.
Essentially, Qingyang's industrial transformation is an experiment in policy innovation.
In March 2022, the "Qingyang City's 14th Five - Year Plan for Digital Economy - led Innovation and Development" was issued, providing important support and specific guidance for Qingyang to build a national hub node for the national integrated computing power network and implement the "Eastern Data Processing with Western Computing" project.
In March 2024, in the computing power field, the "Implementation Plan for Qingyang City's Computing Power Vouchers for 'Eastern Data Processing with Western Computing'" clearly states that 100 million yuan worth of computing power vouchers will be issued annually, providing a 30% subsidy for enterprises using local computing power, with a maximum support of 2 million yuan for a single enterprise. This policy has directly increased the computing power utilization rate in Qingyang to 85%, attracting enterprises such as Capital Online to establish a heterogeneous computing power adaptation center, which has adapted more than a hundred leading ecological enterprises.
In the low - altitude economy field, Qingyang has designated the low - altitude economy town in Ningxian County as the core area and built an aerospace technology achievement transformation base. It is reported that the "Qingyang City's 15th Five - Year Plan for the Construction of Low - altitude Flight Service and Support System" and the "Qingyang City's 15th Five - Year Plan for the Development of Low - altitude Economy Industry" being compiled will provide important guidance and compliance for the city's low - altitude economy development and air traffic management. At the same time, multiple departments such as public security, natural resources, and transportation will also compile sub - plans for low - altitude development and application in their respective industries according to the industry development needs, forming a comprehensive and multi - level planning system to ensure the orderly progress of the low - altitude economy development.
In addition, Qingyang is jointly building a new digital Silk Road with Hami and Bazhou, exploring a new channel for "Western Data Processing with Western Computing" and promoting the output of computing power resources to Central Asia.
However, challenges still lie ahead. Although there is a national strategic layout for "Eastern Data Processing with Western Computing," the supporting industrial chain is not yet perfect, and emerging industries such as the digital economy and high - end manufacturing have not yet formed a scale effect. In addition, problems such as the high cost and great difficulty of full - time recruitment of high - end talents are gradually emerging.
Nevertheless, we still look forward to the sound of server cabinets in the "Eastern Data Processing with Western Computing" project echoing on the Loess Plateau as Qingyang starts a new industrial story.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment Community" (ID: pedaily2012), author: Guo Shicai. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.