China. Shanxi.
The most sluggish province.
Wheezing along with the black stuff.
A province that has long depended on coal is struggling to diversify.
On a muggy July morning, the Museum of Coal in Taiyuan,
capital of Shanxi province, is bursting with visitors.
An exhibit boasts of the province's reserves of 650 billion tonnes of coal.
Mining could last for over 200 years, it enthuses.
Asked if coal would still be dug up in that distant future,
a guide nods eagerly, seemingly unaware of China's green transition.
Shanxi is China's most sluggish province.
Last year, its economy grew by 2.3%, well below the national average of 5%.
In the first half of this year, it grew by 3.8% compared with a year earlier,
a marked improvement on 2024, but still the slowest of the pack.
A man tending an electronics shop in Taiwan is unaware of Shanxi's poor standing,
yet he says its economy is only so-so.
He adds, hopefully, things will definitely get better sooner or later.
A big problem is Shanxi's long-standing dependence on coal.
In 2021, its rising price set the local economy flying.
The province grew by 9.1%, putting it third in provincial rankings that year.