Deep in the ground in Changxing, is another stone quarry that has been turned into a theme park called Taihu Lake Longemont Paradise. After eight years of restoration, the site attracted the park project with an investment of 27.8 billion yuan ($3.89 billion), which is bringing economic benefits and job opportunities to locals.

With the restoration of old mine sites, Huzhou is among the first batch of cities to put forward the concept of "green mines" that wants productivity as well as environmental protection. As the country has been decommissioning defunct mines because of environmental concerns, land reclamation at such sites is being encouraged.

From Nov 1, the national technical standards for mine restoration, issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources, came into effect. This aims to help to regulate the industry.

According to China Energy News, China closed some 12,000 coal mines by 2020. The figure is expected to reach 15,000 by 2030.