My name is Gou Dan and I'm a miner .

I was born in the village and I am a bit uncultured . I have a brother who is a year older . His grades were much better than mine so our family sold our last piece of land to send him abroad to study .

As such, I could only give up on learning and enter the mine with other kids who were slightly older than I was .

It was considered illegal, but I still took home 18 dollars a day .

To a 14-year-old, that was a huge sum, and it was also much higher than what other industries were paying .

I'll tell you briefly about the mining procedures . It's not as simple as planting and digging .

We wore a full set of uniform that was prepared by the company .

I was young at that time so even the smallest size was a tad too big for me .

We wore uniforms not because it was dirty down there, but because our own clothes might produce friction and static electricity, causing sparks or gas that leads to an explosion .

I hated the boots the most . They were similar to rain boots but thicker, stiffer and more unbreathable . Our leader would not let us enter the mine if we do not put them on, so I had no other choice .

For every 10 miners, there was a leader . My leader was another big kid from my village . His name is Dahai .

He was very meticulous in many aspects .

He would constantly remind us to bring our mine light, something that I absolutely hated . We already had a headlight attached to our helmet so the lamp was unnecessary in my opinion . "Wait 'til something happens," Dahai would repeat .

We weren't allowed to bring any electrical equipment down to the site to prevent explosions . Dahai would get annoyed when reminding us about it because some workers would secretly bring their phones along to check for messages or the time .

Dahai enjoyed working with me since I had no money for a phone so he had no need to worry .

Dahai often emphasized that safety was the priority and that prevention was better than cure . These were things he memorized from the manual, but the higher-ups liked it so Dahai quickly got promoted . By my first month, he had already become a leader .

Dahai would often play a hilarious guide video from his phone to educate us . He would also show us a video about an explosion that was triggered by a mobile phone in a gas station .

For a long time, I had thought that the videos were given to him by his manager and that they might be fake . I couldn't understand how an invisible fire could lead to an explosion . It might have been a coincidence, and another colleague mentioned the possibility of photoshop .

Dahai would replay the video and warn us not to bring electrical devices down before we enter the mine . It had become a standard procedure .

Everyone would get dressed and proceed down .

We had to take a lift made from iron panels, and we liked to call it the elevator cage .

Whenever the lift door closed, we would feel like cats or dogs that had been locked up . A colleague would often chime, "Down and up goes the elevator cage and a day is over . Down goes the elevator cage but not up, and our lives are over . "

I remember thinking that we could start work immediately after descending, but I soon realized that that wasn't the case . Entering the mine was only the first step, we still had to walk over 10 kilometers upon landing .

My colleagues explained that our mine was different from others . There were paths that required what we call a monkey car .

It works like a cable car but it was stripped to the minimum, with just a bench and rope . Only one person can sit on the bench at a time, and he has to grab the rope like how monkeys grab onto tree branches . Majority of the miners disliked sitting on it because it was a shaky and an uncomfortable journey .

Next, we would have to take the railway cart .

On the track was a trolleybus that transported us deep into the mine cave, where we could finally get to work .

No one would believe that there was a railway a few hundred feet underground unless they saw it for themselves .

My favorite part was taking the cart since it gave me about 10 minutes of rest .

I would fall asleep in the cart, just like most of the other miners, because we needed to focus a lot at work or risk endangering our lives .

The front workers would lead the job by drilling holes, delineating the work region, and setting off the controlled explosions .

After the explosions, us miners were in charge of digging while Dahai and another teacher would start constructing and provide shelter to ensure our safety .

They would cover our heads with a shed made from a hydraulic pressure machine to prevent the collapse of the coal mine .

This job required specialized skills and total cooperation . Their protection was our last guard and our lives depended on them .

Once the shed was done, things would become easier .

Everyone would exit the lane and insert the customized coal extraction machine .

The machine would cut the mine and pull them out .

These make up the procedure of coal mining, and the steps after pulling it out weren't any of our business anymore .

The teacher said that I was lucky since these machines weren't available a while back .

The shelter had to be built manually, along with the digging, collecting, and even transporting of coal .

He would show me the cracks on his palms, which were permanently stained black due to the coal . There was no way to remove such stains .

Coal briquettes weren't common anymore but a large volume of coal was still needed in many industries .

What you don't know is that there are only about 500 registered miners in China but actually much more unrecorded employees .

I started at 14 years old and was considered an illegal worker .

Time pa.s.sed and I had already worked in the mine for 10 whole years . More of my meaningful experiences and memories revolved around life underground than above ground .

We were all aware that new energy was becoming more and more popular whereas coal mining was in decline . It was only a matter of time before we run out of a job .

There would be other mineral ores for us to dig, sure, but we all knew that coal mining was the easiest . We do not wish for our job to ever be terminated .

My name is Gou Dan and I 39 m a miner . I was born in the village and I am a bit uncultured . I have a brother who is a year older . His grades were much better than mine so our family sold our last piece of land to send him abroad to study . As such, I could only give up on learning and enter the mine with other kids who were slightly older than I was . It was considered illegal, but I still took home 18 dollars a day . To a 14 year old, that was a huge sum, and it was also much higher than what other industries were paying . I 39 ll tell you briefly about the mining procedures . It 39 s not as simple as planting and digging . We wore a full set of uniform that was prepared by the company . I was young at that time so even the smallest size was a tad too big for me . We wore uniforms not because it was dirty down there, but because our own clothes might produce friction and static electricity, causing sparks or gas that leads to an explosion . I hated the boots the most . They were similar to rain boots but thicker, stiffer and more unbreathable . Our leader would not let us enter the mine if we do not put them on, so I had no other choice . For every 10 miners, there was a leader . My leader was another big kid from my village . His name is Dahai . He was very meticulous in many aspects . He would constantly remind us to bring our mine light, something that I absolutely hated . We already had a headlight attached to our helmet so the lamp was unnecessary in my opinion . Wait 39 til something happens, Dahai would repeat . We weren 39 t allowed to bring any electrical equipment down to the site to prevent explosions . Dahai would get annoyed when reminding us about it because some workers would secretly bring their phones along to check for messages or the time . Dahai enjoyed working with me since I had no money for a phone so he had no need to worry . Dahai often emphasized that safety was the priority and that prevention was better than cure . These were things he memorized from the manual, but the higher ups liked it so Dahai quickly got promoted . By my first month, he had already become a leader . Dahai would often play a hilarious guide video from his phone to educate us . He would also show us a video about an explosion that was triggered by a mobile phone in a gas station . For a long time, I had thought that the videos were given to him by his manager and that they might be fake . I couldn 39 t understand how an invisible fire could lead to an explosion . It might have been a coincidence, and another colleague mentioned the possibility of photoshop . Dahai would replay the video and warn us not to bring electrical devices down before we enter the mine . It had become a standard procedure . Everyone would get dressed and proceed down . We had to take a lift made from iron panels, and we liked to call it the elevator cage . Whenever the lift door closed, we would feel like cats or dogs that had been locked up . A colleague would often chime, Down and up goes the elevator cage and a day is over . Down goes the elevator cage but not up, and our lives are over . I remember thinking that we could start work immediately after descending, but I soon realized that that wasn 39 t the case . Entering the mine was only the first step, we still had to walk over 10 kilometers upon landing . My colleagues explained that our mine was different from others . There were paths that required what we call a monkey car . It works like a cable car but it was stripped to the minimum, with just a bench and rope . Only one person can sit on the bench at a time, and he has to grab the rope like how monkeys grab onto tree branches . Majority of the miners disliked sitting on it because it was a shaky and an uncomfortable journey . Next, we would have to take the railway cart . On the track was a trolleybus that transported us deep into the mine cave, where we could finally get to work . No one would believe that there was a railway a few hundred feet underground unless they saw it for themselves . My favorite part was taking the cart since it gave me about 10 minutes of rest . I would fall asleep in the cart, just like most of the other miners, because we needed to focus a lot at work or risk endangering our lives . The front workers would lead the job by drilling holes, delineating the work region, and setting off the controlled explosions . After the explosions, us miners were in charge of digging while Dahai and another teacher would start constructing and provide shelter to ensure our safety . They would cover our heads with a shed made from a hydraulic pressure machine to prevent the collapse of the coal mine . This job required specialized skills and total cooperation . Their protection was our last guard and our lives depended on them . Once the shed was done, things would become easier . Everyone would exit the lane and insert the customized coal extraction machine . The machine would cut the mine and pull them out . These make up the procedure of coal mining, and the steps after pulling it out weren 39 t any of our business anymore . The teacher said that I was lucky since these machines weren 39 t available a while back . The shelter had to be built manually, along with the digging, collecting, and even transporting of coal . He would show me the cracks on his palms, which were permanently stained black due to the coal . There was no way to remove such stains . Coal briquettes weren 39 t common anymore but a large volume of coal was still needed in many industries . What you don 39 t know is that there are only about 500 registered miners in China but actually much more unrecorded employees . I started at 14 years old and was considered an illegal worker . Time pa.s.sed and I had already worked in the mine for 10 whole years . More of my meaningful experiences and memories revolved around life underground than above ground . We were all aware that new energy was becoming more and more popular whereas coal mining was in decline . It was only a matter of time before we run out of a job . There would be other mineral ores for us to dig, sure, but we all knew that coal mining was the easiest . We do not wish for our job to ever be terminated .