Mine museum showcases earth鈥檚 riches
Print Edition
The mining site of Koktokay has become a new attraction that tourists should not miss when visiting northwest China鈥檚 Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Known as 鈥渢he natural geological museum,鈥 the mining site in Koktokay Township in the county of Fuyun has more than 80 kinds of minerals, nearly half of the 170-plus types known in China. The mining site also has one of the largest pits in the world, which is more than 200 meters deep.
The minerals and rare metals produced at the mining site played a crucial role in the development of the country鈥檚 aerospace, national defense and other industries.
However, as the mineral resources at the mine became depleted by the end of the 1990s, the mine had to overcome the predicament of shrinking profit and increasing pollution.
Developing tourism based on the mine has become an option. The local government invested over 3.7 billion yuan (US$540 million) in restoring vegetation, building roads and other projects involving the improvement of the environment.
The government also shut down an electrolytic aluminium plant and others with high pollution and built cultural industry parks on the sites of the plants to attract culture and tourism companies.
The efforts proved to be a success. About 1.6 million tourists visited Fuyun County in 2015 and half of them visited Koktokay.
Tourists can experience a maze-like world of various minerals such as quartz and mica in an 800-meter-long mine tunnel, where the temperature is zero degrees Celsius all year.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
