THE LONG SHADOW OF DROUGHT
But Ulanqab’s rapid expansion as a computing hub raises a question: Can a region long prone to drought accommodate the water needs of a growing data-centre industry?
For residents who have lived through decades of water scarcity, the challenges are familiar.
Gao, 57, who asked to be identified only by his surname, grows potatoes and sweet potatoes on a plot outside his home in a village east of Ulanqab’s city centre.
Having lived there all his life, he recalled droughts that sometimes stretched for months, leaving farmland parched and crops unable to grow.
“There were times when we couldn’t grow anything because there was just no water,” he told CNA.
“We had to be very careful with water, even for drinking. Life was hard back then.”
For Shengjiaying resident Shi Shuzhang, 60, unreliable household wells were once part of everyday life.
“In the past, every family dug its own well, but some were deeper than others. Sometimes you would draw water, and there would be none,” he recalled.
In June 2011, drought affected more than 23,000 sq km of Ulanqab, according to weather authorities. In Chahar Right Middle Banner, an administrative division equivalent to a county, about 15,000 residents faced difficulties accessing drinking water.
Both Gao and Shi said access to household water had improved considerably over the years due to infrastructure upgrades, including storage tanks and piped supplies
