Reflections

How China’s coal mining industry evolved over history, as Shanxi disaster shocks country

From bamboo ventilation systems to steam power and beyond, China now leads the world in producing and consuming coal, but dangers remain

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Listen

China is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal. Centuries of technological advancement have enabled more efficient mining, but sometimes tragedies remind us of the industry’s dangers. Photo: Shutterstock

Having lived his whole life in the modern cities of Singapore and Hong Kong, Wee Kek Koon has an inexplicable fascination with the past.

Published: 8:15am, 30 May 2026

A coal mine explosion occurred in China’s Shanxi province last week. It was one of the deadliest in recent years, with 82 miners killed at the time of writing and many more injured. The details are familiar: a suspected gas blast, difficult rescue conditions, grieving families waiting above ground.

Much has been said about improved safety standards and stricter oversight in China’s coal industry, and much of it is true. Yet accidents like this continue to punctuate the sector, both within China and the rest of the world, with tragic regularity.

The terrible loss of human lives is a grim reminder that, for all of humanity’s technological strides, coal mining remains a very dangerous enterprise.

It is hard not to wonder what it must feel like to be a coal miner, to go underground each day, fully aware of the risks and the possibility that it may be the last time you see your family.

Rescuers approach the Liushenyu coal mine in China’s Shanxi Province on May 23, 2026, after a gas explosion there that left dozens of miners dead. Photo: Xinhua

Long before it powered factories or lit cities, coal was already being used in China during the Han period (206BC-AD220) as a practical fuel, albeit in a very limited capacity. Without the know-how to dig deep and limited knowledge of the combustible substance itself, the only coal obtained was that exposed above ground. For centuries, wood was the main source of fuel.

By the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) periods, population explosions in urban centres presented multiple problems, one of which was fuel. Most previously forested areas around the cities had been denuded. As timber became scarce, coal became a viable alternative fuel.

How China’s coal mining industry evolved over history, as Shanxi disaster shocks country

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From bamboo ventilation systems to steam power and beyond, China now leads the world in producing and consuming coal, but dangers remain

From bamboo ventilation systems to steam power and beyond, China now leads the world in producing and consuming coal, but dangers remain