Former Site of Huaqiao Coal Mine in Xuzhou

Former Site of Huaqiao Coal Mine in Xuzhou

The former site of Huaqiao Coal Mine in Xuzhou is a protected cultural heritage site under Jiangsu Province.

The former site of Huaqiao Coal Mine in Xuzhou is located in the southern part of Jiawang District, covering a total area of approximately 4.2 hectares. It is divided into the original Huaqiao mining area and the Xiabridge mining area. With a long mining history and rich cultural significance, the site traces its origins to the eighth year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1882), when Hu Enxie, a provisional prefectural magistrate from Nanjing, began digging wells and establishing a coal mine in Jiawang, thus initiating the mining history of the Jiawang coalfield. In 1933, the Xiabridge mine was first excavated. By November 2001 and February 2008, the Xiabridge and Huaqiao mines were successively closed after more than 130 years of operation. The site includes factory buildings covering an area of about 3 square kilometers, spread across roughly 10.82 square kilometers. Later, parts of the above-ground industrial buildings at the Xiabridge mine were demolished, but some water towers from the Republican era, as well as buildings and bunkers from the Japanese puppet period, were preserved. The functional structures at the Huaqiao mine, such as various above-ground factory buildings and mine entrances, remain well-preserved. This site witnessed the development of modern coal mining industry, once served as a pillar of the regional economy, provided valuable energy resources for national construction, made significant contributions, and also acted as a vital livelihood source for local residents at the time. During the Third National Cultural Relics Census, the Huaqiao Coal Mine site was selected as one of the "Top Ten New Discoveries of the Third National Immovable Cultural Relics Census in Jiangsu Province" as an immovable cultural relic representing modern industrial heritage. On December 19, 2011, the site was designated as a cultural heritage protection unit of Jiangsu Province. In 2015, Jiawang District carried out conservation and restoration work on 10 sites and 11 architectural structures within the Xiabridge mining area of the Huaqiao Coal Mine site. These included the former headquarters of the Nationalist Third Pacification Zone troops (Xiabridge office building), the headframe of Shaft No. 1, the old chimney, the headframe of Shaft No. 3, the hoist house of Shaft No. 3, the hoist house of Shaft No. 2, the headframe of Shaft No. 2, a Republican-era water tower, two bunkers, and a stone-built old perimeter wall. At the same time, the interior and exterior environments of the buildings were cleaned and renovated. Today, the Huaqiao Coal Mine is presented to the public as an industrial heritage park.

On December 19, 2011, the People's Government of Jiangsu Province designated it as a provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit in the seventh batch.