Under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, unfinished projects are frequently seen. In De Ling Ha City, Haibei Prefecture, Qinghai Province, the former mayor, Li Chunsheng, was reported to have blindly incurred debts in pushing forward the new energy light rail project, causing harm to the people and the economy. The project, with an investment of nearly 1 billion yuan (RMB), was planned to be the world’s highest-altitude light rail route upon completion, but since its inception in 2016, it has remained in a stalled state. Some analysts believe that Li Chunsheng is just a scapegoat in the political arena.
According to official announcements from Qinghai on June 12th, the former director of the Proposal Committee of the Haibei Prefecture Political Consultative Conference, Li Chunsheng, has been placed under “investigation for review”.
The official report stated that Li Chunsheng “blindly incurred debts, implemented the De Ling Ha City new energy light rail project that is detrimental to the people and economy”, established alliances with others to resist scrutiny; illegally participated in investments on behalf of others; indulged in low-level interests, playing mahjong with private enterprise owners for a long time; abused his position for personal gain in project contracting, and illegally accepted huge sums of money, among other accusations.
Li Chunsheng has been expelled from the Chinese Communist Party and his public office, and has been prosecuted.
Li Chunsheng, born in January 1971, is of the Tu ethnic group from Qinghai Datong. He worked for a long time in the Haibei Prefecture Committee in Qinghai Province and became the Secretary-General of the Haibei Prefecture Government in November 2012. From around 2015 to 2021, he served as the Deputy Secretary and Mayor of De Ling Ha City, Haibei Prefecture, and concurrently as the first deputy director of the Qinghai Province Chaidamu Circular Economy Experimental Zone De Ling Ha Industrial Park Management Committee. Official reports show that by 2021, Li Chunsheng had served as the director of the Proposal Committee of the Haibei Prefecture Political Consultative Conference and a senior researcher until he was investigated in November 2024.
According to mainland media Pengpai News, behind the case of Li Chunsheng lies the issue of an unfinished project in De Ling Ha City, a small city on the plateau investing nearly 1 billion yuan in a light rail project.
De Ling Ha City is the capital of Haibei Prefecture, consisting of three towns, one township, and three sub-district offices, covering a total area of 27,700 square kilometers with a permanent population of 88,000.
In November 2016, the groundbreaking ceremony for the De Ling Ha City New Energy Modern Light Rail Demonstration Line project was held in the new urban area of De Ling Ha City. The project was proclaimed as the first modern light rail route in the western region of China and would be the world’s highest-altitude light rail route.
Official statements at the time suggested that the De Ling Ha New Energy Modern Light Rail would become a mobile sightseeing platform for the city, with a total route length of about 14.8 kilometers, enhancing the development of De Ling Ha City’s tourism industry and adding new economic growth points to the city.
The total investment for the project was 950 million yuan, with all the tracks at ground level, including 19 stations and one vehicle base. The project was initially scheduled to commence operation in De Ling Ha City in early August 2018. That year, Mayor Li Chunsheng even worked at the site of the light rail project. However, news of the official operation was never announced.
In October 2019, it was officially declared that the De Ling Ha Modern New Energy Light Rail Demonstration Line’s route and station construction had passed the inspection. In May of the following year, the De Ling Ha National Investment Group confirmed that the light rail was ready for trial operation and the city government had issued official documents to establish a leadership team for the trial operation.
However, it wasn’t until November 2, 2023, that local residents questioned online why the De Ling Ha light rail had not been put into operation for a long time. The De Ling Ha Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Committee replied that after assessment, it was found that certain facilities in the high-altitude region had safety risks while operating and were undergoing rectification.
In a report by “China Newsweek” in February 2024, a staff member of a company that had collaborated on the project with Haibei Prefecture was contacted. The staff member stated that the project is still in a stagnant state and they are unsure how to proceed.
Currently, efforts are being made to deal with the unfinished project. Pengpai News reported that in April of this year, the preparation service for the disposal report of the De Ling Ha New Energy Light Rail project was awarded to Guangzhou International Engineering Consultation Co., Ltd. and China Railway Electrification Survey and Design Research Institute Co., Ltd., with a transaction amount of 1.198 million yuan.
Some Chinese netizens commented, “In a city with a population of 88,000, having the ability to incur debts of tens of billions for a project at will, what kind of management is this?”
“Nowadays, pushing ahead with rail transportation is met with widespread criticism. Let’s face reality.”
“This is outrageous. How did this project get approved in the first place?”
Current affairs commentator Li Lin expressed to Da Ji Yuan that Li Chunsheng, as the mayor of a small city, would not have been able to get the project approved on his own, involving officials at the provincial and state levels of Haibei Prefecture and Qinghai Province, as well as relevant departments of the State Council. It is clear to the discerning eye that Li Chunsheng is merely a scapegoat in the political arena.
Public records show that while Li Chunsheng was serving as the mayor of De Ling Ha City, the Secretary of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee was successively Luo Huining, Wang Guosheng, and Wang Jianjun.