Mining the story of King Coal
June 6, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SHANXI Province is a coal mine powerhouse, China's home of King Coal where industrial coal mine tourism is attracting interest. Yao Minji digs out the story.
Coal miners' safety helmets are heavy and awkward; there's cushioning net inside to protect the head and, of course, a head lamp to light the way in darkness.
Donning our helmets, we climb aboard a small coal car on a track and begin the trip in an underground virtual coal mine at the Coal Museum of China in Taiyuan, capital city of Shanxi Province. The helmets are part of the atmospherics.
Shanxi, famous for its coal riches, is one of the few places in China providing this up-close industrial traveling experience. It provides a tour of coal mining history, geology, geography and industry.
A real underground mine can be toured at Jinhuagong National Mining Park in Datong in northern Shanxi. The Xishan National Mining Park, another underground tour in Taiyuan, is under construction.
In the past, the jinshang or Shanxi merchants were often associated with trading and piaohao, the model of modern banks. They were deeply attached to the land and though they built huge residences, they lived simply, frugally and without ostentation.
Over the years, the merchants and bankers were replaced by private coal mine owners or bosses, the new Shanxi tycoons.
Unlike the old Shanxi merchants, these coal millionaires and billionaires are known for living lavishly, throwing money around, paying with suitcases of cash for buildings, race cars and anything they want. Their children too flaunt their wealth.
In March, it was reported that one such boss spent 70 million yuan (US$11 million) on the wedding of his daughter - he later said it was only 15 million yuan.
But these private tycoons are destined to fade from the stage in years to come, since the province has been closing some mines and consolidating others as state-owned enterprises to ensure better efficiency and safety - China has the world's deadliest mines, though safety is improving. In 2011 the government reported 1,973 fatalities, down from 2,433 in 2010.
In the city of Datong, China's so-called coal capital, all coal enterprises are now consolidated and state-owned. The former coal mine bosses, after selling their mines to the state, now invest their capital in agriculture, tourism and other fields.
Mining tourism
Coal mine tourism is an up-and-coming attraction in the province where there are many abandoned coal mines. Only one tour is sanctioned at this time. The Jinhuagong Mining Park is only 12km from the city of Datong and not far from the famous Yungang Grottoes, containing more than 50 caves with more than 50,000 well-preserved Buddhist statues from the 5th century AD. It is convenient to take a tourist bus from the grottoes to the coal mine park.
The park features a mysterious underground mine exploration tour, taking visitors 300 meters down into an abandoned mine. The dark and twisting mine exhibits six stages of coal mining over the years, from the earliest mining with manual labor, picks, shovels to the use of advanced technology and automation.
Visitors can see a layer of coal from the Jurassic Period (200 million-146 million years ago) and journey through different stages of coal, learning how it is formed.
The Coal Museum of China in Taiyuan is well-organized, with seven pavilions and one virtual coal mine. It is half an hour's drive from the Jinci Complex, a large garden containing ancient architecture and sculpture. The coal museum and the garden can be visited in a one-day trip.
The first pavilion displays a 15-square-meter world coal resource map, showing different types of coal mines around the globe. It stands right next to a six-meter sculpture made of coal. Small, delicate coal figures are displayed; many are animals, especially dragons.
The next pavilions contains a model of a Jurassic forest where visitors can see how trees, which contain carbon, become coal over millions of years. A six-minute, four-dimensional movie takes visitors through the formation of coal from millions of years ago.
The third pavilion shows human use of coal and coal mining throughout history. Today, around 90 percent of the coal mines in the province have been automated, allowing workers to operate in a safety zone supported by jacks, while automatic digging machines do the heavy lifting.
The virtual mine is only one story underground. It covers 3,200 square meters. Many items displayed are originals or replicas.
Coal miners' safety helmets are heavy and awkward; there's cushioning net inside to protect the head and, of course, a head lamp to light the way in darkness.
Donning our helmets, we climb aboard a small coal car on a track and begin the trip in an underground virtual coal mine at the Coal Museum of China in Taiyuan, capital city of Shanxi Province. The helmets are part of the atmospherics.
Shanxi, famous for its coal riches, is one of the few places in China providing this up-close industrial traveling experience. It provides a tour of coal mining history, geology, geography and industry.
A real underground mine can be toured at Jinhuagong National Mining Park in Datong in northern Shanxi. The Xishan National Mining Park, another underground tour in Taiyuan, is under construction.
In the past, the jinshang or Shanxi merchants were often associated with trading and piaohao, the model of modern banks. They were deeply attached to the land and though they built huge residences, they lived simply, frugally and without ostentation.
Over the years, the merchants and bankers were replaced by private coal mine owners or bosses, the new Shanxi tycoons.
Unlike the old Shanxi merchants, these coal millionaires and billionaires are known for living lavishly, throwing money around, paying with suitcases of cash for buildings, race cars and anything they want. Their children too flaunt their wealth.
In March, it was reported that one such boss spent 70 million yuan (US$11 million) on the wedding of his daughter - he later said it was only 15 million yuan.
But these private tycoons are destined to fade from the stage in years to come, since the province has been closing some mines and consolidating others as state-owned enterprises to ensure better efficiency and safety - China has the world's deadliest mines, though safety is improving. In 2011 the government reported 1,973 fatalities, down from 2,433 in 2010.
In the city of Datong, China's so-called coal capital, all coal enterprises are now consolidated and state-owned. The former coal mine bosses, after selling their mines to the state, now invest their capital in agriculture, tourism and other fields.
Mining tourism
Coal mine tourism is an up-and-coming attraction in the province where there are many abandoned coal mines. Only one tour is sanctioned at this time. The Jinhuagong Mining Park is only 12km from the city of Datong and not far from the famous Yungang Grottoes, containing more than 50 caves with more than 50,000 well-preserved Buddhist statues from the 5th century AD. It is convenient to take a tourist bus from the grottoes to the coal mine park.
The park features a mysterious underground mine exploration tour, taking visitors 300 meters down into an abandoned mine. The dark and twisting mine exhibits six stages of coal mining over the years, from the earliest mining with manual labor, picks, shovels to the use of advanced technology and automation.
Visitors can see a layer of coal from the Jurassic Period (200 million-146 million years ago) and journey through different stages of coal, learning how it is formed.
The Coal Museum of China in Taiyuan is well-organized, with seven pavilions and one virtual coal mine. It is half an hour's drive from the Jinci Complex, a large garden containing ancient architecture and sculpture. The coal museum and the garden can be visited in a one-day trip.
The first pavilion displays a 15-square-meter world coal resource map, showing different types of coal mines around the globe. It stands right next to a six-meter sculpture made of coal. Small, delicate coal figures are displayed; many are animals, especially dragons.
The next pavilions contains a model of a Jurassic forest where visitors can see how trees, which contain carbon, become coal over millions of years. A six-minute, four-dimensional movie takes visitors through the formation of coal from millions of years ago.
The third pavilion shows human use of coal and coal mining throughout history. Today, around 90 percent of the coal mines in the province have been automated, allowing workers to operate in a safety zone supported by jacks, while automatic digging machines do the heavy lifting.
The virtual mine is only one story underground. It covers 3,200 square meters. Many items displayed are originals or replicas.
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