A national energy and chemical hub being built on a 15,500 sq m site in the Gobi Desert is set to modernise coal mining
6-MIN READ6-MINDannie Pengin XinjiangPublished: 9:00am, 21 May 2026Updated: 9:01am, 21 May 2026As the war in Iran disrupts global oil and chemical supplies, China’s coal-heavy energy sector is seizing an unprecedented opportunity. Dannie Peng visits the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang – one of the country’s four major bases for large-scale, modern coal-chemical production – to see first-hand how a vast industrial ecosystem is rapidly taking shape on the ground.
The scale of the infrastructure is immense. The world’s highest-voltage power line already carries electricity from the region to eastern China, while work is under way on the country’s biggest pipeline to transport coal-derived natural gas from northern Xinjiang to developed eastern cities.
The zone, situated on the southeastern edge of the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang’s Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, is a gargantuan undertaking. Spanning three counties and covering a planned 15,500 sq km (5,984 square miles), the zone stretches 220km (137 miles) from east to west, carving a massive industrial footprint into the arid landscape.
