Town in SE China’s Fujian turns mining area into moth orchid greenhouses

Dressed in a white shirt and gray trousers, 52-year-old Yang Zhaoxin was smelling a bouquet of moth orchids while occasionally adjusting his collar. “Just look at this! It's been an entire day and my clothes are still immaculate. Can you believe it? My small coal village has completely transformed into a camping site!”

Photo shows the scenery of Fenglin village, Longtan town, Yongding district, Longyan city, southeast China’s Fujian Province. (Photo/Yang Zhihao)

Yang is a villager from Fenglin village, Longtan town, Yongding district, Longyan city, southeast China’s Fujian Province. During its heyday, the town was home to over 500 coal mines. The local community’s livelihoods were tied to the underground coal reserves. Yang, for instance, ran a coal truck weighing station, and led a prosperous life.

“But people were really covered in soot and looked terrible,” Yang recalled with a sigh as he thought about the days when coal dust filled the air. In the village, there was a saying that, “one doesn’t wear white in the mining area because everything turns black from the dust.”

With the sinking ground, destruction of vegetation, erosion of soil, and dust filling the air, various ecological repercussions started to surface.

Longtan town started to shut down unlicensed coal mines in 2012, prompting the villagers to question how they were going to make a living without the mines.

As luck would have it, Wanhua Landscape Co., Ltd. (Wanhua) was looking for a suitable industrial base for its business. Longtan town was able to come to an agreement with Wanhua, and the two formed a partnership to cultivate moth orchids.

Photo shows a camping site in Fenglin village, Longtan town, Yongding district, Longyan city, southeast China’s Fujian Province. (Photo/Yang Zhihao)

The moth orchids require the construction of high-standard greenhouses to be properly cultivated, and those greenhouses require hardened land, a quality lacking in most ordinary farmland. Longtan town’s abandoned mines offered the perfect environment for building the greenhouses.

In June 2022, the ecological restoration project for abandoned mines in Yongding district was chosen as a national-level demonstration project and received a 300 million yuan (about $ 41.81 million) subsidy from the central government. With additional funding from the local government and the involvement of private capital, the restoration project, with a total investment of 548 million yuan, began in March last year.

Photo shows moth orchids in Fenglin village, Longtan town, Yongding district, Longyan city, southeast China’s Fujian Province. (Photo/Yang Zhihao)

The ongoing restoration efforts have brought about a remarkable ecological transformation to Fenglin village. The greenhouses built on the hills of the village have changed the landscape from “black coal mountains” to “flower mountains”.

With the support of Wanhua and favorable policies, five additional moth orchid cultivation enterprises have established themselves in Longtan town. This has created job opportunities for nearly 2,000 people, with an annual average per capita income surpassing 50,000 yuan.

Currently, Longtan town’s transformation from a mining town to a flower cultivation and scenic area continues to evolve. Construction continues to build on the beauty the flowers have brought. “With a beautiful hometown and prosperous people, who wouldn't love this ‘flower mountain’?” Yang said while laughing heartily.

Young people in Longtan town promote moth orchid products during a live-streaming session. (Photo/Yang Zhihao)