Changing Lives
Students from developing countries get inspired by the green transformation of a coal-mining town
Standing on the bank of the Qihe River, international students from the Emerging Markets Institute (EMI) at Beijing Normal University were enthusiastically taking group pictures against the pristine scenery of Qihe River wetland in Hebi City, central China’s Henan Province.
They were part of an annual initiative to help international students get a better understanding of the economic and social development around China, especially in small and medium-sized cities. The EMI organized two trips for international students in China, which in December last year included 52 international students from 30 developing countries visiting Hebi.
Hu Biliang, Dean of EMI, had a reason to choose Hebi as a trip destination for his students. “As a typical energy-based city, Hebi is committed to the transformation and upgrading of its industry. Hebi has a lot of experience to share with students from developing countries,” he told Chinafrica.
Covering an area of 2,182 square km with a population of 1.64 million, Hebi experienced the dawn of its coal mining industry as early as a century ago. It is one of the earliest cities in China to start coal mining. Since 1957, the coal mining industry has dominated the local economy for many years.
However, the coal mining boom led to environmental challenges such as air pollution in the city. In addition, Hebi began to face economic challenges around the 2000s due to gradual depletion of coal resources. It became obvious to local administrators that the city had to make a change.
“Traditional ways of using coal have low added value, and pollute the environment heavily. As the Chinese economy develops with escalating environmental protection