Remnant Lands examines the afterlife of coal mining landscapes in northern China. Thousands of mines once sustained towns whose residents devoted their lives to extraction. Decades of overexploitation left much of the land scarred and uncultivable. When many mines were closed in the late 2000s due to safety and emission regulations, millions of workers were forced to relocate, leaving their homes abandoned. Yet some residents chose to remain, holding onto the places that carry their memories. This project explores how these remnant landscapes might support new forms of communal life.
