In June, northern Shaanxi Province in northwestern China is lush with thriving vegetation. Traveling through the plateaus, ridges and gullies of Miaogoumen Town in Fugu County, a turn in the road reveals Xiyaogou Village. New homes with white walls and gray-tiled roofs stand against the hillsides, rows of greenhouses gleam in the sunlight, and the crisp sound of students reading can be heard from a nearby school.
It is hard to imagine that this vibrant landscape was once a coal-mining subsidence area plagued by frequent ground collapse. In the past, the 423 households and 2,019 residents of Xiyaogou Village were scattered along loess cliffs, where ground fissures scarred the land like dark wounds across the Loess Plateau.
Xiyaogou New Village
Barren hills turn green
Seventy-four-year-old Yuan Houying vividly remembers those difficult years. “Whenever it rained, we were terrified,” she recalled. The loose soil of the loess hills allowed rainwater to pour into cracks, threatening the collapse of cave dwellings at any moment. The land was barren and rugged, and even draft cattle would be exhausted after a day’s work. “Sandstorms filled the sky, and harvest failures came nine years out of ten”—such was the village’s fate.
Change began in 2019. CHN Energy Guoyuan Power Fugu Company invested 350 million yuan (about 48.6 million USD) and partnered with the local government to carry out comprehensive rehabilitation of the mining subsidence area.
Rather than simply filling the damaged land, the project team tailored restoration measures to local conditions. Ecological forests were planted on hilltops, fruit and vegetable zones were developed on hillsides, economic forests were cultivated in the valleys, and protective shelterbelts were established around the area. Vegetation restoration was completed on 23,000 mu (about 1,533 hectares) of suitable land, with 2.3 million Chinese pine and juniper trees taking root on once-barren slopes. Treated mine wastewater was also diverted directly to irrigate farmland.
Xiyaogou Agricultural Demonstration Park
Years of relentless effort produced visible results. More than 5,000 mu (about 333 hectares) of high-standard farmland was reclaimed within the subsidence area. Of this, 560 mu (about 37.3 hectares) was planted with high-yield crops such as potatoes and corn, while 400 mu (about 26.7 hectares) was developed into specialty fruit-picking orchards. The once-desolate “Chicken Claw Mountain” gradually transformed into a flourishing Mountain of Blossoms and Fruits.
Industrial development creates new opportunities
Inside the village’s solar-heated greenhouses, warmth fills the air. Greenhouse-grown cherries have become the area’s signature industry. Technician Ma Xiuguo explained proudly: “Northern Shaanxi experiences large temperature differences between day and night. The greenhouse warms quickly during the day and cools rapidly at night, allowing cherries to accumulate more sugar and develop a naturally sweet flavor.”
Technician Ma Xiuguo prunes cherry trees
Su Yinmei, a key greenhouse technician, still smiles when recalling the cherry harvest this March. “The bright red cherries looked like little lanterns. One bite, and the sweetness went straight to your heart,” she said.
Employee of Sandaogou Coal Mine and villager Su Yinmei inspect greenhouse crops
That sweetness is backed by real economic gains. The area has adopted a cooperative model involving enterprises, village collectives and farmers. Enterprises finance greenhouse construction and provide consumption-based assistance, village collectives manage transferred land, and farmers undertake cultivation and maintenance. Su Yinmei has done the math carefully: “I earn a fixed monthly salary of 2,800 yuan (about 390 USD) for greenhouse management, plus a 2,000-yuan (about 280 USD) bonus after harvest. My husband works on landscaping in the park and brings home another 2,500 yuan (about 350 USD) each month.”
In addition to wages, villagers receive land rental income and dividends. Today, the area has more than 20 dual-mode arch greenhouses and 15 solar-heated greenhouses, supported by four reservoirs with a combined storage capacity of 17,000 cubic meters. Annual net profits at the agricultural industrial park have exceeded one million yuan (about 139,000 USD), while its thriving fruit-picking tourism has turned the former subsidence zone into a popular destination.
Smart development for a better future
As incomes have risen, the dream of comfortable and secure living has become reality.
Building on the subsidence-area rehabilitation program, the company and local government jointly constructed a new resettlement village. Yuan Houying moved out of her dark cave dwelling of only 20 to 30 square meters and into a two-story house of more than 120 square meters. “The new home is spacious, running water comes directly into the house, and the village now has a recreation square. We exercise, chat and spend time together every day. No one feels lonely anymore,” she said.
Yuan Houying exercises with friends in Xiyaogou New Village Square
Not far from the new village, Miaogoumen Junior High School has also undergone a remarkable transformation. Supported by Guoyuan Power Fugu Company and other contributors, the school has become a benchmark among township middle schools in the county. Principal Wen Yongping, who has taught there for 18 years, described the changes as earth-shaking. After moving into its new campus in 2021, all 15 classrooms were equipped with smart classroom displays and modern integrated teaching systems, while the dormitory building doubled in size and now provides hot water on every floor.
Miaogoumen Junior High School
At the entrance to his classroom, eighth-grade student Zhao Hailong checks in using a smart class display that can also show messages from family members. One message reads: “Son, I’ll come watch your recitation performance this afternoon.” Inside the classroom, teachers skillfully use multimedia tools for instruction. At five o’clock in the afternoon, Zhao and his classmates stand on stage, reciting A Strong Nation, With Me in clear and confident voices.
The Yellow River Basin is rich in coal resources, and through determined rehabilitation efforts, Xiyaogou Village has transformed the dark scars of mining subsidence into a vibrant community full of life.
Looking out from the hilltop, the former subsidence area—once marked by cracks and blowing sand—is no longer filled with the deafening roar of machinery. In its place are greenhouses laden with ripe cherries, smiling elders outside new homes and the sound of children reading in school. Here, better lives have truly been planted into the soil.
