in
Hepingli, Beijing; the ministry was abolished in 1998
Coal mines in pre-industrial China Ancient people in current China started using coal around 6,000 years ago. Historians suspect that the Chinese were involved in the surface mining of coal around 3490 BC, pioneering the pre-modern world. Fushan mine is pointed out as the earliest coal mine in the ancient world and started around 1000 BC. In pre-modern China, coal was constrained both by the limitations of traditional technology and the weakness of demand. In the 3rd century BC, Chinese people began burning coal for heat. The spread of coal use was gradual until the late 11th century when a timber shortage in north China produced a fast-paced expansion in coal mining and consumption. In 1000 AD, Chinese mines were ahead of most mining advancements in the world. Coal mines in China faced similar problems to European ones. Both Chinese and European miners preferred to use
drift mines sunk horizontally into the hillside for drainage of water. In the 18th century, British observers realized that such mines in
Guangdong were opening out directly on to a river.
Slope mines were the second most common type, as mines in
Leiyang, Hunan. In the 19th century,
shaft mines were predominant, especially in
north China. European observers interpreted that as a consequence of the lack of wood in the zone to hold up the roof in slope mines. Flooding was a constant problem, and several mines were abandoned for that reason. Coal mines in China were as deep as those in Europe. In areas such as Shanxi with natural drainage, mines were as deep as 120 m. From Henan and Manchuria, mines had depths of 90 m or more.
Early coal consumption in China Coal consumption in traditional China was substantial but low on a per capita basis. Main coal demand came from industry. The earliest references to coal are in the context of
smelting methods. The technology was spread from the central plain to outlying areas in China. In the 11th century, the iron produced in north China was smelted in
coke-burning blast-furnaces.
Deforestation in that zone forced to turn to the use of coke, mushrooming ironworking centers along the
Henan-
Hebei border. Accounts of that period estimate that at least 140,000 tons of coal a year were used by the iron industry in that zone. Chinese scientist
Song Yingxing suggested that around 70% of iron was smelted with coal. Meanwhile, 30% used
charcoal.
Shanxi was the center of the iron industry in late traditional times. German scientist
Ferdinand von Richthofen accounted for the use of coal in several areas of the province. Early descriptions of coal for household purposes go back until the 6th century when a writer pointed out that food tastes different according to whether it was cooked over coal, charcoal, bamboo, or grass. From the 11th century, coal was the main option in the household in the capital at Kaifeng. At the beginning of the 12th century, twenty new coal markets were established and coal replaced charcoal in the zone. Increasing demand led to the development of mining in areas of
Henan and
Shandong.
Marco Polo claimed that coal was "burnt through the province of Cathay" and pointed out that it was used in bathhouses. ==Production and Trade==