黄石国家矿山公园

Huangshi National Mine Park - Daye Iron Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Route 8, Zhangzhidong Avenue, Tieshan District, Huangshi, Hubei, China, 435006. (30.2152499, 114.9083494)
Open:	All year daily 8:30-17:30, last entry 17. [2024]
Fee:	Adults CNY 35, Children (1.2-1.4 m) CNY 20, Children (<1.2 m) free, Seniors (60-69) CNY 20, Seniors (70+) free. [2024]
Classification:	Iron Mine Open Cast Mining Mine Parks in China
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=2,200 m, W=980 m, VR=444 m.
Guided tours:	self guided, D=2-3 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Huangshi National Mine Park, Route 8, Zhangzhidong Avenue, Tieshan District, Huangshi, Hubei, China, 435006, Tel: +86-714-381-3816.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1890	iron mine opened.
1958	iron mine reopened.
2005	mining continues underground.
23-JUL-2005	Huangshi National Mine Park opened to the public.
2009	Huangshi listed as resource-exhausted city.

Description

黄石国家矿山公园 (Huangshi National Mine Park) is a former open-cast mine which was transformed into a 4A scenic spot, the Chinese version of a show mine. Huangshi literally means "yellow stone" and is the origin of the mine, an iron ore deposit which had a yellow colour due to the oxidation of the iron. The mining started on the surface and followed the iron ore deeper and deeper. At some point the mining continued underground, and the mine is actually still operating underground by the 大冶铁矿球团 (Daye Tiekuang Qiutuan) mining company. The open cast and the surrounding machinery, buildings, and railroad tracks were transformed into an open air museum. There is also a sort of park with a square with a huge statue named 毛主席石雕像 (Stone Statue of Chairman Mao). This square is also a viewpoint over the huge open cast which is 2,200 m long and 444 m deep. There is a 1,800 m long plank road along the rim of the pit and down to the bottom, as a footpath for the visitors.

Mining in the area started almost 1,800 years ago. In 1890, Zhang Zhidong was the Governor-General of Huguang under the Qing Dynasty. Huguang covered the area of today's Hubei and Hunan provinces. He decided to open this iron mine and process the ores in the Hanyang Iron Works. As a result this mine became first large-scale open-pit iron ore mine using modern machinery in China. The characteristic open cast with its huge terraces became known as the "first pit in Asia". At this time the mine was known as Daye Iron Ore Mine.

After it was closed for some years, in 1952 the mine was reopened by the Chinese government. It again produced iron ore from 1958, and it was nicknamed Storehouse of Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation. This was the heydays of the mine, until open-pit mining ceased operation 2005. In total the open cast produced 134 million tons of iron ore and more than 320,000 tonnes of copper.

The Mining Museum is located near Zhang Zhidong Square, with exhibitions about the iron ore mining. It is said to be the first iron ore museum in China. On the square is a statue of Zhang Zhidong which was built of scrap metal and wooden parts of mining machinery. The exhibition shows numerous mining related items and explains the history of the mine.

The next part of the exhibition is called Mining Machine Expo and is an open air exhibition of large machinery. 10 different types of mining and transportation equipment are shown. Quite impressive is a Soviet-made sledge machine.