Tangshan - Kailuan Museum
To learn about Tangshan, you must visit Kailuan National Mine Park.
The highlight is the Kailuan Museum. Tangshan became a heavy industrial city with the birth and rise of the Kailuan Coal Mine.
Since the establishment and operation of the Kaiping Mining Bureau in 1878, many "firsts" in China's modern industrial history have been born in Tangshan. In 1881, the first railway built by China, the Tangxu Railway, was completed and opened to traffic. Although it was only 9.7 kilometers long, it was the first standard gauge railway in China.
The Kailuan Museum houses the British court records of the Kaiping Mining Rights Fraud Case; British-made rails from 1880; old stocks of the Kaiping Mining Bureau (Figures 7 and 8, but the original is kept in the archives, which is not clearly marked here): the century-old "sheepskin-covered ledger" (Figure 9), with anti-counterfeiting patterns on the side of the ledger; rails on China's first standard gauge railway; "Dragon Car" (Figure 10 replica)......
My favorite is "Underground Exploration". Take the elevator from the fourth floor of the Kailuan Museum to the underground entrance, walk along the red trail to the mine more than 70 meters underground, the dim mine lights illuminate the tunnels, winding like a maze, the roar of machines constantly ringing in your ears...... From early human digging and mule pulling to the most advanced comprehensive mechanized coal mining, nine working faces recreate the history of coal production.
Then take the elevator 70 meters underground to the crisscrossing ancient tunnel site. Here, the evolution of coal mining from primitive mining, blasting, and general mining to modern comprehensive mechanized coal mining is truly recreated.
Finally, take the small train (Figure 20) to the cultural and creative area.
Kailuan is one of the industrial enterprises established during the Westernization Movement. After more than 140 years, the Kailuan enterprise has never moved, and its operations have never been interrupted, leaving behind a large number of typical and precious industrial sites, relics, and heritage. To this day, the old mine that has been mined for more than 140 years - Tangshan No. 1 Mine - can still produce about 3 million tons of coal per year.
In October 2009, Kailuan National Mine Park, one of the first national mine parks in China, was officially opened. At present, the Kailuan Museum, China Railway Source Museum, Underground Exploration Tour, and Steam Locomotive Sightseeing Park have been built, forming an industrial museum group of "one park and six museums".