河北关闭污染严重的水泥厂

In order to contain air pollution and transform China’s industrial layout, Hebei Province in the north has been cutting the production of polluting industries. The provincial capital, Shijiazhuang shut down 35 cement plants in 2014, most of them, private companies. What happened to the owners and workers in those factories?

50 year-old An Zhongping has been in the cement industry his entire life. That is, until his cement plant was torn down in 2014.

"My lifetime’s work was inside that cement plant. When it was torn down, I just took a glimpse and left. I didn’t want to see it. If I were a woman, I would have been crying, but I am a man," An said.

An received 12 million Yuan as compensation. He could have spent the rest of his life with just that amount of money, but he decided to make walnut sauce instead. Now his new factory is near completion.

"Walnuts are quite common here, so this could help reduce the cost. If other people’s products can sell, so can mine," An said.

AN bought the most advanced canning production line. The total investment was nearly 30 million Yuan. Along with the compensation, he invested everything he had in the new plant.

The local government is also helping AN to get loans from the bank.

"We demolished his plant because of the new industrial policy. So AN was jobless, and so were his employees. We are doing our best to help him bring his new company to life. We owe him that much," Liang Jinhui, town chief of Yi'An Town, Luquan District, Shijiazhuang, said.

The local government vouched for AN and got him a three million Yuan loan from the bank. Now AN and his employees are starting from scratch, learning to make walnut sauce.

So far, An Zhongping’s food company has passed a preliminary check by the local Food and Drug Administration.

The industrial layout shift killed many polluting companies. And the shift is far from complete. Many more such plants will be shut down. Finding a way for the laid-off workers to get through their difficulties, is the primary target of many local governments now.