?Haizhou mine park opened to the public on July 27.

The Haizhou open coal mine in Funxin City, Liaoning Province, has been transformed into a theme park with an industrial heritage.

The Haizhou coal mine, which was completed in July 1953, was the first mechanized and electric open coal mine after the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. It was also the largest open coal mine at that time in Asia.

However, due to the exhaustion of coal resources, the Haizhou coal mine eventually went bankrupt in July 2005, leaving various problems such as the distortion of the ground, landslides, mine water pollution and ecological deterioration.

In August 2005, Haizhou's proposal to build a coal park was approved by the National Tourism Administration. After three years' construction, with an investment of about 600 million yuan, the park officially opened to the public on July 27.

The mine park is the first tourist demonstration plot with an industrial heritage. Inside the park, there are four main areas to visit: industrialized experience, high-end leisure, entertainment and business leisure. There are more than 100 sites and 8 major scenic spots within the park.

(China.org.cn by Xiang Bin, July 28, 2009)