The Circular Economy Park is the first to be built by Datong Coal in line with the "reduce, recycle and reuse" principle.

The environmental, social and economic benefits of the park are clearly displayed. It demonstrates how the solid coal waste can be reused. The domestic sewage and industrial waste water go into a sewage disposal plant and can be recycled after treatment so the park can work toward the goal of "zero emissions" for waste water.

The park was in the first group of circular economy parks in a Shanxi pilot project. It is in the eastern part of the Datong Coal Field, about 30 km south of the city of Datong and 20 km from Datong Coal's headquarters.

Construction work on the park began in 2003. It is the first circular economy park of its kind in China.

In the next Five-Year Plan, the circular economy Datong Coal is expected to be worth 100 billion yuan, accounting for more than 60 percent of the group's total output value, Wu said.

Their next step is to cooperate with foreign companies in Australia, Russia, and elsewhere for further development.