China's startling ramp-up of wind and solar energy truly needs to be seen to be believed. Fortunately, Chinese photographer Weimin Chu is capturing the stunning transformation in real time.
Yale E360 caught up with Chu, who admitted the award-winning project came to him organically while he was shooting landscapes in the style of traditional Chinese ink painting.
"When I traveled to places like Guizhou, Yunnan, and Qinghai in 2022, I kept seeing wind farms and solar power plants appear in my camera frame," Chu recalled. "I realized this is the story of our time — and almost no one is documenting it in a systematic way."
The images Chu shared are breathtaking. His photographs, taken over three years with the use of drones, showcase some of China's largest wind and solar farms, all from high above.
Some of the most captivating images include an agrivoltaics site where sheep graze in the Tala Desert, a massive solar farm in the Daliang mountains, wind turbines appearing in the background of a Ming Dynasty temple, and a Chinese city's rooftops blanketed by solar panels.
"From the ground, it's hard to grasp the scale of these power plants," Chu told Yale E360.
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These pictures aren't just symbolic; they portray a real impact on China's contribution to global carbon pollution. A Carbon Brief report from midway through 2025 shows that China's toll is steadily declining despite increased energy demand.
China's rapid rate of solar adoption is central to that. Yale E360 noted that the country accounted for more than half of the world's wind and solar power additions in 2025.
The country is also taking leadership in renewable energy technology, with an impact both domestically and abroad. You could compile an equally stunning collection of nascent technologies, such as autonomous food delivery, already in use in China.
While China's embrace of clean energy technology is probably not altruistic, it can have positive ripple effects elsewhere if channeled to reduce global pollution. Chu's collection of photos drives home just how comprehensive the shift is across a variety of Chinese landscapes.
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"When you rise into the air, you can see the geometry, the rhythm — and their relationship with the mountains, the desert, the sea," Chu said of the clean energy installations.
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