Rebirth of Asia's once largest open-pit mine

Fight against depletion

"Villagers who lived in the areas surrounding the mine were a force to relocate as the pit expanded," said Bai Fengqin, a resident of the Taiping District where the pit is located.

"Once it rained, residents had faced the risk of landslides," Bai said. "Windows must be firmly closed during windy days. Otherwise, there would be a layer of dust and ashes in the rooms."

The challenges of solving seemingly intractable problems became increasingly thorny.

"Both the surface and underground techniques adopted in the Haizhou mine have led to many geological environmental difficulties such as depressions, landslides and outbreaks of fire," said Liu Yang with the city's bureau of natural resources.

"We prevent landslides and ground fissures, considered most likely to occur, by cutting slopes and backfilling, and a series of measures were taken to stabilize the soil," said Dai Xiaodong, an official with the local government.

"Dozens of tree species were planted and failed to grow due to the polluted earth, but the ones that survived, mostly drought-tolerant and adaptable trees, gradually took root by the thousands in the barren land," Dai said.

Experts believe that it is a daunting task to deal with mine pits, and Dai said discussions and research have continued for a long-term campaign.

Nowadays, the mine pit has been surrounded by 45,000 trees, covering over 130,000 square meters.

The mine pit along with a vast observation deck and a nearby theme park displaying obsolete coal train carriages have become popular tourist destinations in the city, gathering locals and nostalgic visitors who are willing to take a glimpse into the blazing history of the mine.

"A total of 7.19 square km of land in the mine area are still left unmanageable, so we have a long way to go," said Han Jinlong, vice director of the city's bureau of natural resources.