Roaming the Secret World of Hangzhou's Mine Pit: Where Rough Rock Walls Meet Delicate Art, Capturing Art Inside the Mine Pit

Hidden in the folds of the mountains on the outskirts of Hangzhou city lies a secret place that reconstructs industrial memory through art—the Shishanxia Mine Pit Art Park. Unlike traditional parks that are exquisitely beautiful, this place uses an abandoned mine pit as its base, blending mottled rock walls, exposed mine tunnels, and modern art installations. Every step feels like flipping through a "book of reconciliation between nature and industry," with every casually recorded fragment becoming a unique sensory imprint. From "industrial scars" to "art containers," as you walk along the winding mountain road, the first thing to catch your eye is not the usual greenery or sculptures, but a roughly 30-meter-high gray-black rock wall—this is a "relic" left from mining in the last century. The rock wall still bears chisel marks of varying depths, and some areas are covered with bluish-gray moss. When sunlight slants across, light and shadow flow over the uneven stone surface, as if telling the story of the mining days gone by. Standing on the platform with an unobstructed view, you can take in the entire outline of the mine pit, the distant mountains, and the lawn below. The wind passing through the mine pit carries the coolness of the rock walls, while birdsong and the rustling of leaves fill your ears. The "cold hardness" of the industrial relics and the "softness" of nature perfectly blend at this moment. There is no deliberate commercialized atmosphere here; instead, art is used to breathe new life into the abandoned mine pit—it does not shy away from the "imperfections" of industrial history but transforms these "imperfections" into a unique landscape. Every visitor can understand the story of reconciliation between nature and industry by touching the rough rock walls and feeling the flow of light and shadow.

Post by ISABEL KLEIN | Sep 19, 2025