From grasslands to GPUs: Why China is building its AI powerhouse in Mongolia

Ulanqab’s operating computing capacity rose from 24,000P in 2024 to 172,000P by August 2026China’s artificial-intelligence boom is no longer confined to laboratories, software companies or technology districts in its biggest cities.By the end of 2025, China had 602 million generative-AI users, up 141.7 per cent from a year earlier, according to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). The country’s core AI industry was valued at more than 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025, while the number of AI companies surpassed 6,200, according to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.That surge in AI adoption is driving an equally rapid expansion in computing infrastructure. China’s intelligent computing capacity reached 1.59 million PFLOPS by the end of 2025, according to the