Beneath the green hills of northeastern Jiangxi lies the world’s largest open-pit copper mine. The Dexing Copper Mine, operated by Jiangxi Copper Corporation, produces over 120,000 tons of copper annually and holds reserves that account for roughly one-third of China’s total copper deposits. The city that shares its name — Dexing — covers 2,101 square kilometers with a population of 330,000. Established as a county in 938 AD during the Southern Tang dynasty and elevated to a county-level city in 1990, Dexing has been shaped by mining for over a millennium. But beyond the copper, this is a city of mountain forests, hot springs, and the Damao Mountain range — a national-level scenic area with waterfalls, bamboo groves, and the rushing waters of the Le’an River.
🏭 Featured Industries
- Copper Mining and Smelting: Dexing Copper Mine is the largest open-pit copper mine in Asia and one of the largest in the world. The mine produces copper concentrate, electrolytic copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, and sulfuric acid as by-products. Dexing’s mining operations are a critical part of China’s nonferrous metals supply chain and have driven the city’s economy for decades. The open pit itself — a vast terraced crater over 2 kilometers across — is an industrial sight unlike any other in Jiangxi.
- Nonferrous Metal Processing: Beyond mining, Dexing has developed a downstream processing industry for copper and other metals. Products include copper rods, wires, plates, and alloy materials used in electronics, construction, and transportation.
- Eco-Tourism and Hot Springs: The Damao Mountain Scenic Area is a 4A-rated national scenic spot featuring waterfalls, dense forests, and the Damao Mountain Hot Springs — a natural geothermal resort. The area is popular for hiking, forest bathing, and hot spring soaks. The scenic area also includes historic sites from the revolutionary period.
- Agriculture and Specialty Products: Dexing produces high-quality tea from the mountain slopes, camellia oil, and bamboo products. The city is also known for its medicinal herbs, including dendrobium (a prized orchid used in traditional Chinese medicine) grown in the mountain forests.
🗺 Tourist Attractions
- Damao Mountain Scenic Area: A 4A-rated national scenic area, Damao Mountain is characterized by towering granite peaks, plunging waterfalls, crystal-clear mountain streams, and dense bamboo and pine forests. The main waterfall — known as the “Flying Waterfall” — drops over 70 meters into a deep pool. The scenic area includes hiking trails, viewing platforms, and the Damao Mountain Hot Springs Resort, where visitors can soak in natural geothermal pools surrounded by forest.
- Dexing Copper Mine Open Pit: The vast terraced open-pit mine is a dramatic industrial landscape. While the active mining area has limited public access, the viewing platform at the edge of the pit offers a breathtaking view of the engineering marvel. The mine’s scale — trucks the size of houses hauling ore along spiral roads cut into the pit walls — is deeply impressive.
- Haikou Ancient Town: A well-preserved historic town located on the Le’an River, Haikou was once a bustling port on the Jiangxi waterway network. The town retains Ming and Qing dynasty architecture, including ancestral halls, stone bridges, and old shopfronts along the riverbank.
- Rao’er Revolutionary Site: During the Chinese Civil War, the Rao’er area was a base of the Ganzhedong Soviet, where Fang Zhimin and other revolutionary leaders operated. The preserved sites include the former Soviet government offices, Red Army barracks, and a memorial hall documenting the revolutionary history of the region.
- Jiangxi Dexing Museum: The city museum houses exhibits on Dexing’s 1,000-year mining history, the geological formation of the copper deposits, the cultural heritage of the region, and artifacts from the revolutionary period.
🎭 Culture
- Mining Culture and Industrial Heritage: Dexing’s identity is inseparable from copper mining. Miners’ songs, stories, and traditions have developed over centuries. The annual mining festival celebrates the industry with events including mining competitions, safety demonstrations, and cultural performances. The mining community has its own dialect, cuisine, and social customs distinct from the surrounding agricultural villages.
- Revolutionary Heritage: The Ganzhedong Soviet base in Dexing preserves the memory of the revolutionary struggle. Local folk songs commemorate the Red Army’s presence, and the annual memorial ceremonies at the Rao’er sites attract visitors from across the province.
- Mountain Folk Culture: The mountain villages of Damao and surrounding areas maintain traditional folk practices including tea-picking songs, mountain love songs, and the making of bamboo crafts. The annual Damao Mountain cultural festival features folk dance, music, and local food.
- Dexing Opera: A regional variant of Jiangxi opera with its own repertoire and performance style, Dexing opera is performed during temple fairs and festivals. The sung accompaniment features local percussion instruments.
🚗 Getting There
- Rail: Dexing’s copper travels the rails — the Shanghai-Kunming Railway and the Jiujiang-Quzhou Railway both pass through the city, with high-speed connections to Nanchang, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.
- Road: The G60 Shanghai-Kunming Expressway runs past the city limits. Shangrao is one hour west, Jingdezhen 1.5 hours north, and Nanchang about 2 hours by road.
- Air: Jingdezhen Airport (1.5 hours), Shangrao Sanqingshan Airport (1 hour), and Nanchang Changbei International Airport (2.5 hours) serve the region.
🍜 Local Cuisine
- Dexing Copper Mine Worker’s Stew: A hearty stew of pork belly, tofu, and root vegetables slow-cooked with soy sauce and star anise, traditionally cooked in large pots for mine workers. The dish is rich, warming, and filling.
- Le’an River Fish: Fresh fish from the Le’an River, steamed with ginger, scallions, and local chili. The flesh is tender and sweet, a product of the clean mountain-fed river.
- Damao Mountain Bamboo Shoot and Wild Mushroom Stir-Fry: Bamboo shoots and wild mushrooms harvested from the Damao Mountain forests are stir-fried with local camellia oil. The dish is light, earthy, and aromatic.
- Camellia Oil Cold Greens: Local mountain greens are blanched and dressed with cold-pressed camellia oil, a specialty of Dexing. The oil has a distinctive nutty flavor that complements the greens perfectly.
- Dexing Rice Noodles: Rice noodles in pork bone broth, topped with shredded pork, pickled vegetables, a boiled egg, and chili oil, often served with a side of local pickles.
- Mountain Herb Egg Drop Soup: A simple soup of local wild herbs and egg drops in clear chicken broth, light and fragrant, often served as a starter or digestive.
Data Source: Dexing City Official Website