Members of the 2023 "A Date with China" international media tour visit Yili Modern Intelligent Health Valley in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, July 13, 2023. [Photo by Qi Lei/chinadaily.com.cn]

As one of the top five dairy producers in the world, Yili Group aims at more than dairy output as its newly-established health valley emerges as a potential industrial cluster.

Yili Modern Intelligent Health Valley in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, combines grass plantation, dairy source development, smart manufacturing, technological innovation, cultural and touristic functions and business activities to make the industry closer to urban life and more friendly to the ecology, members of the 2023 "A Date with China" international media tour discovered.

Dubbed as "dairy Silicon Valley", the valley is smart and green, right from the pasture to the production line.

For instance, in automated intelligent cow sheds, the cows are milked, rest or graze without any human contact while eco-friendly technologies are used in various areas such as building design, energy consumption, production process, logistics and storage, especially to reduce carbon emissions in product distribution and storage in spite of the stringent temperature requirements for dairy storage.

Neslihan Kilavuz, a Turkish content creator who was on the media tour, said she was excited to visit the factory where the yogurt she usually has for breakfast since arriving in China five years ago is produced.

"They use very advanced technology to produce dairy in so many flavors, and I enjoy it very much," she said.

The valley is a national industrial tourism demonstration benchmark and a national research and academia demonstration base with summer as its peak season to welcome tour groups, especially students and other young visitors.

In line with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Yili Group has upgraded its "wish" system focusing on quality, zero-carbon and better life.

Members of the 2023 "A Date with China" international media tour visit Yili Modern Intelligent Health Valley in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, July 13, 2023. [Photo by Chen Xinyu/chinadaily.com.cn]

Members of the 2023 "A Date with China" international media tour visit Yili Modern Intelligent Health Valley in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, July 13, 2023. [Photo by Qi Lei/chinadaily.com.cn]