A staff member briefs on the "east data, west computing" initiative at a data center in Qingyang, northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

LANZHOU -- Outside Wang Ting's studio window, rolling loess hills stretch toward the horizon, while on her computer screen, bustling city streets captured by self-driving cars flicker to life.

Born in Huanxian County in Qingyang -- a remote city on the Loess Plateau in northwest China's Gansu Province -- the 29-year-old once left home to seek work in other cities. Yet, thanks to the establishment of a digital employment base in her hometown, she returned to become an artificial intelligence (AI) trainer, labeling vehicles, pedestrians, and traffic signs in images to train self-driving vehicles.

Her story mirrors a remarkable transformation in Qingyang. Once economically dependent on fossil fuel extraction, the city faced challenges in creating stable jobs as China accelerated green development. In 2016, Qingyang pivoted to the digital economy, launching a cloud computing and big data center. This shift gained momentum in 2022 with the national "east data, west computing" initiative, a cornerstone of China's digital infrastructure aimed at enhancing inland regions' data-processing capabilities.

Today, Qingyang stands as one of the country's premier data center hubs, attracting over 370 digital enterprises. By the end of 2024, its cluster had deployed 31,000 standard server racks, boasting 50,000 petaflops of computing power.

"With this capacity, the servers can process as many as 500 billion photos per second," said Jing Lirong, a manager at China Mobile's computing center in Qingyang.

"This capacity enables servers to process 500 billion images per second," said Jing Lirong, a manager at China Mobile's Qingyang computing center. He explained that massive volumes of data from Shanghai can reach Qingyang within one second for real-time analysis, while design teams in south China's Guangdong can immediately leverage its resources for complex 3D rendering.

This computing boom has fueled new industries. In Zhengning County, a solid-state sodium-ion battery production line was introduced to support digital infrastructure. "At full capacity, the line will generate over 2 billion yuan (about 281 million U.S. dollars) annually and create over 1,000 jobs," said Gong Xiaozheng, head of the county's commerce bureau.

Leveraging its computing strength, Qingyang is also pioneering the low-altitude economy in Gansu. Last December, the city successfully tested its "No. 001" drone, equipped with cutting-edge technology such as electro-optical pods, satellite communications, oblique cameras and multispectral sensors for inspections, emergency communications and geographic mapping.

"Drone R&D demands massive computing power to reduce costs and enhance performance," said Hou Yutong, general manager of a local aviation technology company. "Qingyang's capacity has slashed our development time."

By integrating digital and low-altitude economies, Qingyang is forging a new path. The city has already partnered with multiple tech firms to innovate in drones, logistics, and smart delivery, injecting fresh momentum into its future.