BAODING, China -- Water once ruled this teeming urban center, back when its most famous commodity was vegetables, when the farms outnumbered the apartments, and before the town's landmark 11-story building was surpassed by hundreds twice that size.

Equipment manufacturing was a major part of the economy in this one-time agricultural center about 85 miles southwest of Beijing, but the region's water quality also made film production one of the city's top industries. Digital cameras put a swift end to that, city leaders said. And so began the hunt for something new.

Baoding found it in 'green' energy, specifically the manufacturing of wind turbines and solar photovoltaics (PV).