Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia is a small grassland city renowned for its potatoes, earning it the title of China's "Potato Capital." Today, this land is also producing an entirely new product—tokens. From growing potatoes to "growing" tokens, what changes has this small grassland city brought to its young people?

Over a hundred data centers have gathered in Ulanqab, creating a severe shortage of operations and maintenance talent. Currently, Ulanqab has attracted more than 100 data center projects, generating a huge demand for professional infrastructure operations and maintenance staff. To address this, the local human resources and social security department has held over twenty skills training sessions to supply talent to the data centers. Right now, trainees at Ulanqab Vocational College are nervously preparing for job interviews at data centers in just a few days. Ao Demu, a teacher at Ulanqab Runchuang Industrial College, explained that with so many data centers being built, there is an urgent need for talent. Often, orders arrive before training even finishes, and over a thousand trainees have already been trained so far.

Twenty-three-year-old Chen Gang is a native of Ulanqab. He works as an infrastructure operations and maintenance technician at a data center. Invited by his teacher, he returned to the school to share his interview experience with the students. Chen Gang said that the main duties of an infrastructure operations and maintenance technician are daily inspections to ensure the safe operation of power, cooling, and server room equipment. Therefore, one must be proficient in electrical, HVAC, low-voltage, and fire safety knowledge.

From growing potatoes to "growing" tokens, young people have new hope

Today, Chen Gang deals with cutting-edge technology every day, but just two years ago, he was still uncertain about his future. Chen Gang's home is in Chayouhou Banner, Ulanqab, where for generations the locals have made a living growing potatoes. Many young people chose to leave for work elsewhere, and Chen Gang had once found a job as a hotel waiter in Qingdao, Shandong. In 2022, Inner Mongolia was included as one of the eight national computing hubs under the "Eastern Data, Western Computing" initiative. With an average annual temperature of only 4.3°C and abundant wind and solar resources, Ulanqab was designated as a starting zone for the hub. In just a few years, data center projects from multiple leading companies have successively landed here. Seeing his hometown's development, Chen Gang resolved to seize the opportunity and dive into this most cutting-edge industry. He quit his job, returned home, and participated in local skills training. From circuit principles to HVAC equipment, he studied late into the night every day and eventually successfully joined a data center. This year, he also passed the college-to-university upgrade exam and is currently studying electrical engineering and automation.

This year, more than 20 additional computing power companies have established operations in Ulanqab, attracting more and more young people to return to their hometown. The data centers rising one after another have connected the once-quiet grassland town to cutting-edge industries, bringing new hope and dreams to its young people. "The employment prospects for big data are getting better and better. I hope to learn new knowledge and have a specialized skill," said one trainee. "My wish is to pass the interview soon and build a career in this industry," said another trainee from Ulanqab Runchuang Industrial College. Chen Gang told reporters: "On this land, we once grew potatoes for generations. Now it has become 'growing' tokens. We young people have better prospects for development."