When Premier Wen Jiabao called for the development of 'environmentally friendly technologies' and 'clean production' in his work report last week, he might have been talking about Dongshan Island.
Perched on the southern coast of Fujian , overlooking the Taiwan Strait, Dongshan is the mainland's favourite spot for staging mock invasions across the water. But the island is also the perfect place for harnessing one of the country's greatest and most underused natural resources: wind.
At the end of a rutted dirt track surrounded by rows of green crops hand-tended by farmers in conical hats, 15 sleek white towers are planted firmly in the sand above the beach. The rhythmic swoosh from the turbine blades, now powering the light bulbs and televisions in local farmers' homes, is barely audible above the waves crashing on the shore below.
Dongshan wind farm is the coal-free cutting edge of China's power industry. The country may no longer be the sick man of Asia but it's the filthiest: it burns more coal than any other nation, and relies on the fuel for about 70 per cent of its energy needs.
In 2005, China burned more than 1.2 billion tonnes of coal and emitted more carbon dioxide than the whole of Europe. As the mainland's cheapest and most secure energy resource, coal will remain the nation's primary electricity-generating source for the foreseeable future.
China's leadership knows, however, that its present energy model is unsustainable and - despite the struggle to enforce environmental policies and energy efficiency targets at the local level - the central government is doing more than many other countries to promote green energy sources.