Bijie, a mountainous city in Guizhou province, has an ambitious plan to become southern China's energy hub with an economic value of about 130 billion yuan ($21 billion) before 2020, local authorities say.

But before that can happen, the city must balance economic development and environmental concerns.

For Bijie Mayor Chen Changxu, that means not only upgrading and transforming the development methods of traditional industries such as coal, but also encouraging the development of new energy, including wind and hydro power, to power the city's future green economic engine.