China’s solar push reshapes traditional ways of life on Tibet’s high plateau

A flock of sheep moves among solar panels at Talatan Solar Park in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, China, on Aug. 5. | REUTERS

Nov 5, 2026

GONGHE, China – Life has become unexpectedly easier and more lucrative for some shepherds on the world’s highest plateau, after China began carpeting the area with solar panels in a drive to diversify its energy mix.

“It has made grazing much easier for us,” said Li Yonglin, 25, one of those allowed to freely graze their sheep in a fenced solar park in Gonghe, a county in the northwestern province of Qinghai.

“In the morning, we simply open the gate to the sheep pen and don’t really need to look after them. They come back on their own in the evening, and we just pen them up.”

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