Photos by Michael Yamashita yamashitaphoto / Coal, the rock that burns. "It is a fact that all over the country [of] Cathay there is a black stone existing in beds in the mountains, which they dig out and burn like firewood.” This is how Marco Polo described the widespread use of coal in China during his time there in the 13th century. In addition to providing heat, coal was used by the Chinese to power large numbers of ironworks. China is currently the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world, even though in September, President Xi Jinping pledged to make his country carbon-neutral by 2060. But in the far northern province of Liaoning coal still powers the local economy, and steam engines built in the 1980s belch black smoke as they haul coal from pit mines dug into the arid landscape. #coal #steamtrain #liaoning #China #locomotive