Ice Miners

by Qin Bin

W hile the Yudu Mountain Scenic Area was closed for winter， workers rose early on mornings in late December and braved temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius to mine ice on Wangyou Lake at the foot of Yudu Mountain in Beijing’s Yanqing District.

Cooperating with Nature

Buzzing electric saws foretold the sound of cracking ice as the workers sliced it like butter in a silver blur of snowy dust. With their heavy exhaled breaths visible， the workers then divided into groups of three or four to drag the big ice cubes out of the water.

The workers repeated the steps over and over until the sun set. After the ice cubes were cut into square-meter pieces 35 centimeters thick， they were loaded for transportation to the Longqing Gorge Scenic Area 12 kilometers away to be carved into ice lanterns in various artistic styles.

At the upper reach of the Longqing Gorge， the Yudu Mountain Scenic Area enjoys a unique microclimate featuring low temperatures， high humidity， and a wide day-night temperature difference. Beijing’s winter starts there as the brooks-feeding crystalclear Wangyou Lake freezes over. Around December 20 every year， the thickness of the ice on Wangyou Lake reaches 35 to 40 centimeters， making it a favorite place to retrieve ice cubes for the annual Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Art Festival. Thanks to the quality water of the lake， lanterns made from the ice are particularly glittery and translucent and melt slower.

Guo Xianmin， 60， spent his entire morning on the lake. His job was to haul the ice blocks out of the water alongside two other older men. He had a break while waiting for pieces to be cut. Guo took out a cigarette， lit it， and offered one to every colleague around him. In the winter sunshine， the white smoke left distinct tracks as it wafted up into the sky.

From Beiliang Village in Yanqing， Guo and 10 other villagers drove 15 minutes to reach the lake in the early morning. This was Guo’s second year on the job. His expertise at boiler operation and maintenance became obsolete when all the villages started using electricity for heating instead of coal. According to Guo， he can earn about 6，000 yuan （US$950） during the 20-day ice-picking season. “If I didn’t work on this， I would just stay at home，” he grinned. “It’s nice to earn some money to buy alcohol for the upcoming Spring Festival. The ice-picking process is environmentally-friendly. I’ll come next year if I can.”