Footage has emerged on X of power plant structures in north-central China dramatically collapsing in under 20 seconds this week during a controlled demolition.
A few minutes after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the sound of the detonating charges could be heart splitting the air as three 340-foot cooling towers and three 690-foot smoke chimneys buckled in on themselves, sending up clouds of dust in their wake.
It was the climax of demolition work that began at the site in early 2022. Built with the assistance of the former Soviet Union, the earliest part of the coal-powered Zhengzhou Xinli Electric Power Co. facility became operational in 1953. Several expansions took place between 1992 and 2006.
Before being retired in 2019, the power station supplied 1 gigawatt of power to the city each year, responsible for 60 percent of the centralized heat supply of Zhengzhou City. The imposing industrial site also became a landmark in the Henan province capital, local newspaper the Dahe Daily reported.
Local authorities gave official notice of the demolition. They set up 15 warning points around the doomed building and controls on nearby roads, according to the newspaper. Many people had gathered to watch and record from a safe distance outside the blast zone by the time the charges were ignited.
“For decades, this has been a landmark in the Western suburbs, full of memories,” a woman surnamed Wang told the Dahe Daily. “I heard that it was going to be demolished two or three years ago, and now it has finally happened.”
The plant is being cleared away for an urban renewal project, one of several such projects in Zhengzhou that have received 10 billion RMB ($1.38 billion) in total investment.
The site of the old power plant will host a demonstration project “integrating industry, education, residence, and leisure,” with the goal of spurring “high-quality development,” the Dahe Daily reported. Some of the land will be used to build four neighborhoods, the newspaper added.
“High-quality development” is a term frequently employed by Chinese President Xi Jinping to describe a focus on sustainable, innovation-driven growth. This approach emphasizes improving the quality and efficiency of economic development over pursuit of rapid economic expansion at any cost.
One example of this in an industrial context is Beijing’s Shougang Park, a former steel plant that has given way to green spaces, restaurants, and recreational activities.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by email.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.