FIELD NOTE 03 · KAZAKHSTAN / 2025

“Yuanmeng Xiyu” Field Study in Kazakhstan.

Six days, two cities. Notes from universities, energy organizations, public interviews, and a wind farm.

Recorded 2025.08.03—08.08Field Study · Kazakhstan7 min read

Akmola Region · Photographed during the field study on 2025.08.07

In August 2025, I traveled to Kazakhstan with the “Yuanmeng Xiyu” (源梦西域) field team. We began in Almaty and finished in Astana.

This is not a project report. It retains only what can be cross-checked against the itinerary, photographs, and written records.

Almaty

We arrived on the evening of August 3. The following day began with an academic exchange at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. We later held an energy-and-culture session at the Chinaline Chinese-language school, followed by interviews on public attitudes toward energy and the environment along Abai Avenue.

No close-up photographs from the meetings or street interviews are included here. This section of the public version shows only the journey and its urban setting.

A moon above the aircraft wing on a night flight, with city lights visible beneath the clouds — August 3, en route to Almaty.

An aerial view of Almaty, with the city extending toward distant mountains — Almaty from the air, expanding along the edge of the mountains.

Northbound

On August 5, we flew from Almaty to Astana. The mountains gradually receded beyond the flight path, and the terrain below became almost level.

Clouds and a sunlit lake beneath the aircraft wing — The flight from Almaty to Astana.

The visits that followed focused on energy projects, cross-border cooperation, and green finance. Institutional and project background is listed below; this account does not reproduce promotional material.

Wind Farm

On August 7, we first visited Sungrow Renewables, then continued to the SPIC wind power project in the Akmola Region. Turbines, transmission lines, service roads, and tower sections awaiting installation turned a project described on paper into a physical site.

Wind turbines extending along the horizon of the flat steppe in the Akmola Region — The Akmola wind power project, with turbine positions extending along the horizon.

A tower section awaiting installation beside operating turbines and transmission infrastructure — A tower section awaiting installation and the site's transmission infrastructure.

Several wind turbines standing across farmland beneath a layered sky — Turbines and farmland at the edge of the site.

I recorded the scale of the site, not its technical parameters or coordinates.

Astana

Between scheduled visits, there was time for brief observation of the city. On the evening of August 7, we visited the Astana Grand Mosque. The photographs focus only on its exterior, dome, and light.

Calligraphy and warm light inside the dome of the Astana Grand Mosque — Inside the dome.

University and Return

On August 8, we visited laboratory spaces and joined an academic exchange at Nazarbayev University. That evening, we flew from Astana to Ürümqi via Almaty, concluding the Kazakhstan leg of the journey.

The atrium, skylight, and suspended flags inside Nazarbayev University’s School of Engineering and Digital Sciences — The atrium of Nazarbayev University's School of Engineering and Digital Sciences.

Six days of material now sit along a single line: universities, institutions, companies, a wind farm, and two cities. This article establishes the factual record first; conclusions can wait for a later account.