French-German artist Alexandre Dupeyron has been drawing inspiration from the remnants of industrial activity at the former Wumuchong coal mine in Ningxiang, Hunan province. Arriving in early March for a one-month residency, Dupeyron is utilizing coal and brick fragments collected onsite to create new artworks, blending drawing and photography with pigments derived from the mine’s raw materials.

The Wumuchong site, once a significant coal mining operation employing around 2,000 workers, ceased production in 2016 following a government decision to phase out obsolete mining practices and address environmental concerns. Today, the nearly 10-hectare area preserves numerous industrial structures—including nine main buildings, three mine shafts, railway tracks, and the skeletal frame of a sorting conveyor—serving as a foundation for a burgeoning international art zone.

The transformation initiative began in 2020 under the guidance of local authorities and cultural experts such as Liu Ke, a professor at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Rather than a rapid overhaul, the plan emphasizes gradual change with the creation of a museum at the core of the complex to preserve industrial heritage alongside artist studios, living quarters, galleries, exhibition spaces, and a public ecological art park. International artist residencies form a key element of this effort, with visiting artists invited to spend several weeks or months immersed in the environment.

Since its inception, the art zone has hosted approximately 300 short-term international artists and maintains exchange programs with residency initiatives across Europe and Asia. Preservation and restoration activities, supported by a Sino-French cultural cooperation project launched in 2024, involve multidisciplinary research into the site’s industrial history, supplemented by oral histories from former miners and technical staff.

Together with the Avignon Higher School of Art, Chinese partners are integrating biochar technology to treat abandoned materials and reduce pollution. This approach also serves artistic purposes, exemplified by French artist Sarah Venturi’s creation of a recycled coal dust pigment dubbed “Meitanba Black,” named after the local township.

Efforts to restore two to three buildings annually incorporate ecological technologies, striving to preserve authentic materials while adapting the site for new uses. The project team deliberately avoids large-scale commercialization, instead envisioning Wumuchong as a space dedicated to artistic innovation, academic research, and cultural exchange.

Recognized as a provincial industrial heritage site in January, Wumuchong is part of a broader trend across China to reinterpret industrial relics as cultural assets. Similar transformations have been achieved in regions such as Beijing’s Shougang Park, the former steelworks converted into a multipurpose cultural district that served as a venue during the 2022 Winter Olympics, and Qingdao’s Tsingtao Beer Museum, housed in a century-old brewery complex preserving original industrial architecture.

In Hunan’s capital Changsha, a former oil warehouse complex from the 1930s has recently reopened as Tank Changsha, a commercial and cultural space honoring the city’s local history and community memory. The project preserved original materials and atmospheres, aiming to maintain a tangible link to the everyday experiences of previous generations.

Experts emphasize that industrial heritage sites are unique for their physical presence within modern urban environments, offering a tactile connection to human history. The challenge lies in integrating these sites into contemporary life as dynamic cultural spaces rather than static museums—a philosophy guiding projects like Wumuchong, which strive to combine preservation with creativity and social engagement.