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LIVING IN STEEL CITY

By NewsChina Updated Jul.31

1. A cook surnamed Xu who works at Qian’an Steel Company opens up a small patch of land near a steel plant wall in an attempt to grow vegetables

Qian’an, a Hebei Province city rich with iron ore, lies beside the Luan River at the southern foot of Yan Mountain.　
　
It is estimated that Qian’an possesses about 2.5 billion tons of iron in total. As a result, a large number of steel enterprises sprung up around the city in the 1980s, earning it the nickname “Steel City.” In Qian’an’s heyday, many of its youth flocked to steel plants for work. No matter how laborious the tasks or how poor the conditions, young people living in Steel City had faith in the stability of the profession.　
　
But their lives have since been turned upside down, tumbling alongside China’s floundering iron and steel industry. China Iron and Steel Association data show that the country’s steel industry suffered 12 consecutive months of decline in 2015, and the aggregate loss for the year exceeded US$15.29 billion. In Qian’an, many steel plants stopped production last year and have yet to reopen their doors. Hordes of workers are still waiting for overdue paychecks. Steel City residents are stuck, constantly asking themselves and each other: “When will we get our money?” “When will the plant resume operations?” “Are there other jobs available?” These questions haunt Qian’an, a city that only sees uncertainty when it peers into the future.

2. The Songting Steel plant, viewed from the northern side of the mountain, which has had to close its doors

3. An abandoned open-cast mine

1. Due to the shutdown of the nearby Songting Steel Company plant, this pedicab driver has had problems drumming up customers

2. A worker collects bricks at an abandoned house near a steel mill to build a makeshift bathroom for his home

3. A cosmetics store in the county of Zhenbinghe, near Qian’an, holds its opening ceremony

4. A 40-year-old former steel plant electrician surnamed Zhang (center) tries to find a new job at a Qian’an job fair

5. Former steelworkers look for work at the Steel City job fair

6. Steel City seniors line up in front of a department store to receive freebies being given away as promotions, including wash basins and vegetables

7. A woman sits in front of an abandoned shop in Zhenbinghe, one of many stores that have recently shuttered in the area

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