Coal capital reborn as center of health

The one-time coal capital of Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, is trying to remake itself into a leisure and health center.

To that end, the city government has developed Yaowang Mountain scenic area, which includes a number of healthcare and tourism projects, according to Jing Xiaoxi, deputy director of the administrative bureau of the Yaowang Mountain scenic area.

"Yaowang Mountain was where the famous ancient Chinese doctor, pharmacist and health expert Sun Simiao (581 – 682) worked and lived. He wrote more than 80 works about Chinese medicine and healthcare on the mountain," Jing said.

With its rich heritage and historical resources, the scenic mountain was approved as a national Chinese medicine education base in December.

The city was once the coal-production base in China, but pollution severely damaged the environment and made the city one of the dirtiest in China in the 1990s.

Since undertaking its transition, the city has closed more than 400 companies with poor pollution-control production lines for coal and cement.

"Our city is a producer of coal, but we do not use coal for heating and cooking, and our cement production has strict pollution control measures," Jing said.

Along with pollution control, the city has also paid more attention to planting trees and grass, and has forest cover of 45.1 percent and public green space reaching more than 10 square meters per person.

Thirty-two crested ibises, highly endangered birds found only in China, were released into a specially built zone in Tongchuan in 2013.

The city has now become one of the top three for living in the province.