Shougang: From industrial base to attraction in Beijing

Railway tracks, now redundant, still crisscross part of Shougang, once busy with trains bringing in the essentials of iron ore, coal and other minerals. One section of line next to the colossal No 3 blast furnace has several specially designed wagons permanently on display. Formerly they would transfer molten, red hot metal from the furnaces to where it was be processed into sheets of steel or whatever was in demand. On occasions I have explored Shougang, the weather beautiful, the sky clear blue, it's hard to imagine the scale of pollution that once blighted nearby communities, affecting much of the city’s western areas. It was increasingly realized as the major source of pollution for Beijing.

Sitting today beside the tranquil waters of a lake stretching across to the aforementioned furnace, the sounds are of birds in nearby trees and ducks on the water. People exercise, running or simply walking along the boardwalks that now follow the lake’s perimeter. Beyond, to the north, running past the park’s Xiaoximen entrance, maglev surburban trains glide along an elevated track. The impression is of an interface between the high-tech 21st century and symbols of former labor-intensive heavy industry .