LANZHOU: With China now the world's largest auto market, carmakers are eagerly expanding production while eyeing untapped inland markets. Domestic automaker Geely made its bold move earlier than the rest.

The Zhejiang-based private carmaker set up an auto plant in the capital of Gansu province in 2006, which four years later remains the only plant making sedans in all of underdeveloped northwest China.

The factory is about an hour's drive from downtown, standing out on a vast expanse of moorland with no other buildings nearby. Some say it's a tree in the desert.