Boom in data center construction

The materials depict AI data centers appearing at a fast pace — "like bamboo shoots after rain" — across Inner Mongolia's vast grasslands. The facilities are being built to support large-scale AI computing demand, with the region's open terrain providing space for the sprawling installations.

The evidence reviewed consisted of photographic materials presented during a National Intelligence Service look at AI equipment, with the images viewable in PNG format. Detailed figures on the number of facilities, investment scale, or capacity were not provided in the materials.

Strategic significance for AI infrastructure

The construction boom reflects the broader race to build the physical backbone of AI — the data centers that house the servers, GPUs and power infrastructure needed to train and run large language models. Inner Mongolia has emerged as one of the regions where this build-out is most visibly concentrated.

The National Intelligence Service materials did not include specifics on which companies are operating the facilities or on their exact scale, and those details remain unconfirmed.

On the available evidence, the claim that AI data centers are springing up like bamboo shoots across Inner Mongolia's broad plains is Mostly True.