Beijing has launched its strictest-ever five year plan to curb the pollution and awful haze. Various measures to reduce coal consumption have been adopted in the capital's center. But in rural areas, too, many villages are making their first steps toward a renewable energy strategy.
In 2012, Beijing introduced a five-year plan to reduce the critical levels of pollution in the Chinese capital, aiming to reduce the coal consumption and replace it with cleaner energy.
In urban Beijing, coal burning power plants have been shut down, aged car have been removed, new cars are being strictly controlled.... But in Beijing's larger suburban areas, especially out in its mountain areas, the municipal gas network is hard to reach, forcing people to continue relying on coal for basic necessities like heating and cooking.
But some villages have started to turn to other -- more renewable -- options.
Gua Jia Yu village, 175 kilometers northeast of central Beijing, is trailblazer. 10 years ago, the tourist town consisting of just 146 households was selected as a pilot for the government's rural renewable energy plan. Each family got a 60,000 RMB worth of solar panels for free.
Solar panels also power the village's 1,500 street lights, even on cloudy days.
But not everything in the solar plan has been a success. The heating system, which relies on hot water circulating through tubes around the house, proved no match for North China's brutal winters.
And those who couldn't afford electric heaters turned back to coal.
But as pioneers in the clean energy movement, the village gained media and tourist attention, encouraging them to continue trying other alternatives, like wind power and biogas. But high maintenance fees and safety concerns have prevented them from committing to a single technology so far.
Though Gua Jiayu village has yet to find the perfect fit, the promise of greater personal comfort, business profit and environmental sustainability, means they're willing to keep on trying.