Wind power has a long past and a huge future. 

Humans have harnessed the strength of the moving atmosphere ever since the first cloth hoisted above a boat put the 'sail' into sailor, uncountable millennia ago. And for several centuries, windmills and windpumps have driven our machines, drained our land and ground our crops more powerfully and practically than any amount of muscle-power.

The usage of fossil fuels might have marginalized wind power, but it has also placed our planet in danger. Amid a growing desire and necessity for greener energy, not to mention ever-improving technology, the world is turning to wind turbines for power that's not only clean but cheap, that's sustainable and renewable, and that's always there, just waiting to be harnessed. 

This is Future Mode, and the power of the future is wind power. 

But how do you build that future? Well, for a start, you have to think big.

CGTN's Wang Tianyu traveled 80 kilometers off the coast of eastern China to visit an offshore wind farm. 

For most people, the closest they'll get to a wind turbine is watching them from ground level, perhaps from afar on the shore. But Tianyu got the full experience, taking the lift up inside the turbine's central tower before emerging at the top and going inside the turbine itself. 

"I'm on top of a wind turbine – it's not easy to get here," he says. "Wooo, the view is stunning."

What's also stunning from close range is the sheer size of the turbine blades. Somewhat resembling a plane wing, they can stretch as long as a football field. 

Chinese firm Envision has built some of the world's biggest blades – but with size can come difficulties. Certainly, it's not easy to install them in the sea, so preparation is critical. 

"The hardest part of making the blades is that we have to make sure every step is done precisely," says Jiang Guanghui, Envision Energy's Assistant Manager of the Jiangyin Manufacturing Plant. "They should last more than 20 years."

There are 72 wind turbines in this particular wind farm, generating millions of kilowatts hours of power each day for factories, electric vehicles or whatever else draws on the grid. 

But offshore wind is only part of a much bigger picture, adding to the power from turbines across the country.

Wind turbines are a big deal in China. As well as being out at sea, you'll find them up on hills and in open fields — basically anywhere there's enough wind.

"That's the beauty of the wind," says Envision Founder and CEO Zhang Lei. "Once you have space, you are able to harvest wind energy… It's an infinite supply of energy flow."

China has installed 520 Gigawatts of wind power — nearly half of the world's total. The United States ranks second, but its capacity is still less than one-third of China's. Germany, India and Brazil follow behind.

So China is in the lead – but there are signs that Europe is embracing wind power.... and not just when CGTN's Michael Marillier tries out a wind tunnel to test the strength of a near-200 km/h blast – the sort harnessed by some of the world's biggest turbines. 

In the UK, the wind is producing more power than ever. In fact, the country now generates 29 percent of its electricity from the wind.

Meanwhile, the numbers have been climbing across Europe. The amount of electricity produced by wind power is nearly 30 times higher than it was in the early 2000s.

But there's a problem – the wind doesn't blow all the time. That means the energy has to be stored in batteries, and most batteries only hold a small amount of power. 

The solution could lie near Sunderland in northern England, where British firm Harmony Energy runs a battery storage system. It teamed up with Envision to build a system that can power 80,000 homes for about two hours. 

And that could be just the start. Envision says it's using AI to make its batteries more efficient, and more powerful. 

"This will power between 1 and 2 million homes for 16 hours a day," says Kotub Uddin, Envision Energy's Chief Technology Officer. "The duration is much, much longer. We've got now the capability to power many homes for a longer time."

While experts in Europe are taking battery power to new lengths, scientists in China are taking turbine tech to new heights. 

In January, a Chinese firm tested a turbine system that floats hundreds of meters in the air, generating power from higher-altitude winds which are often stronger than those near the ground. 

It's a system that brings its own challenges, but it shows that enquiring minds are open to the possible future implementations of this ancient human impulse: catching the wind.

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