Rust

2. Tangshan, a city of about seven million inhabitants in Hebei, China’s steel-
making heartlands, was levelled by a devastating 1976 earthquake that is said
to have claimed 250,000 lives.
heavy-industry powerhouse, propping up a massive Chinese construction
boom and churning out more steel in 2014 than the United States.
Those days now appear over, as concerns mount over the health of China’s
economy and its possible impact on the rest of the world, and Beijing fights
to reinvent the world’s second-largest economy and clear its smog-choked
skies, in turn piling the pressure on heavily polluting steel plants.
Since China began ramping up efforts to slash steel over-capacity and
transition to a more sustainable, consumption-led economic model, some
corners of Tangshan’s once bustling industrial sprawl have taken on the
appearance of ghost towns.
-Tom Phillips《Glory days of Chinese steel leave behind abandoned mills
and broken lives》

3. Xinghua Forge Plant has been empty for a long time. Villagers
grow wheat on the place where was previously piled with iron
ores.

4. Guohua steel company

5. At the bus station in front of the Tangshan Second Iron Plant on
Yinhe Road in Tangshan. It is 3 o'clock in the afternoon. If the
Tangshan Second Iron Plant was still in operation, this area would
be crowded with tired workers just getting off the morning shift.
The air would be thick with smoke and ash. The workers would
wait for bus or have some food in roadside restaurants to relax
after a tough day. Two year later, when the plant shut down, the
restaurants and supermarkets closed their doors as well. There are
no workers under the board at the Tangshan Second Iron Plant.

6. In the past, numerous vehicles ran on the Yinhe Road. There
were three forge plants, one iron and steel plant, and one crushing
plant. Endless trucks lined up here. On both sides of the street, a
variety of stores and hotels were doing business. But now these
bustling scenes have vanished, leaving only the rust colored street.

7. In 2007, large trucks heading for Yinhe stone crushing yard used
to block the whole Yinhe road. Different from Second Iron Plant,
production is barely maintained in Yinhe Ironworks. However,
workers just get half of their payment, as there is less production
demand of iron ores.

8. " I have been a taxi driver for nearly two years. The Tangshan
Second Iron Plant has been out of business for nearly three
years now. At the beginning, we were told to take a holiday,
and we were all very happy to hear that. But it turned out that
our holiday lasted over a year. In the end, we were informed of
the shutdown instead of a request to return to work." Li Dalian
explained, " I never thought that I would see a blue sky with
white clouds here."

10. " I left the previous steel plant where I worked, in 2012. Then, I led my colleagues
to set up a small machinery factory, which was, in fact, rebuilt and expanded. In
the beginning, business was good, I felt confident about my skills. At that time, we
could produce about 50 machine tools every year. During the best years, there were
more than 10 workers in my factory alone. However, last year, I received less and
less orders, due to the influence of steel prices. Now, there are a lot of machine tools
in my warehouse that were produced last year, but never sold. At the beginning of
this year, I could not make ends meet, so I dismissed all my workers and stopped
production. The machine tools that were unfinished were left there. I still have to sell
the surplus products in my warehouse," Mr. Jin continued, "I am lucky that the scale
of my factory was so small. So I do not have to borrow money from others and I owe
nothing to the workers. Many owners of big factory owe huge number of money
which they may use their whole life to pay it. "

11. The half-assembled machine tools are left there, with
layers of rust on the polished surface.

13. "I do steel recycling here," Li Chengxian says, "In the past several years, the steel
plant has not been profitable. They try to cut costs as much as possible, and there
is no other material cheaper than steel scrap. I sell steel scrap at twice the price of
iron ore, but the steel plant can save at 70% of the production cost. In fact, we did
recycling and reprocessing previously, but we stopped doing that since there we
weren't making any profits. There are rusty steel tubes, steel blocks, and steel wires
in the back of the storehouse. Many steel plants are empty due to the capital chain
rupture. They even have no money to hire security guards to guard their factories.
That's why rag-pickers go into steel plants looking for things that can be sold."

17. " There is a lot of scrap iron hiding under the ground," Lao Yu
mumbles, " This used to be a large steel trading center in Tangshan,
and a lot of scrap iron was abandoned when the trading center
being closed a couple years back. I'm not happy to be here, but I
have no alternative. Since the previous plant closed, I cannot find
any other work at my age and I have to look for some scrap iron
here for my life."

18. Form here to the horizon, they all were once part of
the large steel trading center.Now here is full of weeds
and sand.

20. In ruins of the steel plant, many people pass by. Whether
the factory still stands or not, the lives of the local people still
continue. However, with the collapse of the factory, the old
way of life has already begun to change.

22. As Chen put it, "After several months, the number of workers
who come back home accounts for only two thirds of the total.
During the first five months of this year, my performance pay
has been between 2800 and 2900 Yuan (roughly 290 GBP). Life
is really tough right now."
"Over the last two years, it has been obvious that the steel
plants have made efforts to cut down on costs. Four shifts
have become three shifts. Previously, a subordinate factory
with a staff of over 100 people had specific human resources
and accounting staffs, but now their work is completed by
plumbers. And the things normally left to a safety officer or
environmental protection staff are the responsibility of the
production manager." He added, "Everything here is about
steel. If it shuts down, it's over. If our mill closes, we will have
no land, no money, and no work."

23. Small markets gradually form around a deserted steel
plants. An unemployed worker is trying to sell his
tools. The steel plants was bankrupt 3 years ago, and
now local government has built a green belt around
it. The old steel plant behind the green belt is rusting
and decay.

24. "In 2007, I converted my house into a
dormitory for the workers. Since business
was good at that time, a single room could
be filled with eight people. You knew it was
Fengrun Town since there are so many migrant
workers," Lao Wang explained, "But now
the only people still here are the natives. The
migrant workers all left. Who would come
when there are no work opportunities ? "

25. Lao Wang's dormitory has been empty for a long
time. People's living trace has also disappeared.
The closed windows are like puzzled expression.

26. "When there were lots of people, my little shop
did some great business. But now my shop is
closed. We were once told that our houses will
be demolished, but the project was suspended.
We do not understand why. I am waiting for the
compensation fee, so that I can move to another
place. I don't the smell and colour of this city"
Wang Meihua said "Things really changed a few
years ago"

28. The 47-year-old Guangjie Li works in a
supermarket near the steel markets. And he
said, in the 2008-2009, in that time the steel
price is still high. his house on the acrid smoke
will herald a economic prosperity. "In the
supermarket are always busy, many stores are
opened, people go to karaoke, go to drink, a
lot of consumption." Van recalls. "But now,
everything recession, more and more companies
to fail." He said. "When plant operation is good,
a lot of people come here to work. Now factory
fall down, they all went home, small business
also not line."

30. In the edge of Tangshan, there is a residence
of retirees for another factory. People's living
standards are greatly influenced after the factory
closes. And the environmental health work
which should be responsible by the factory has
also been stopped. Thus, a number of huge
garbage heaps have begun to pile up in the
region.

32. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the amusement park in the
downtown square is empty. The staff at the amusement
park drives a toy car in an attempt to drum up customers. A
monument for the Tangshan Earthquake sits in the center of
Tangshan. This monument always remind people- Tangshan is
a city built from ruins.
In recent years, the "winter" of the iron and steel industry has
had a different effect than the earthquake of 1976, as it has
slowly influenced internal aspects of the city and caused people
who once loved living here to leave.
Tangshan is rusting.

34. Seen from Phoenix Mountain, the highest peak in
Tangshan City, there is no the vast expanse of dark
smoke as ever in the north industrial zone in Tangshan.
Floating dust in air is slowly falling down, and iron and
steel in gradually rusting. Someday maybe blue sky will
come back, but rusty iron and steel cannot be shining
again. The people who have left the city will not come
back again.

35. Workers prepare to take apart the sculpture in the center of town.
The words below it read like: "Phoenix City, reborn like a phoenix."
Sadly, it is unclear if Tangshan can be reborn from its current
dilemma. But like the locals said, "The air is much better these days."