Premier Li Keqiang visited the Guandi Mine of the Shanxi Coking Coal Group in Taiyuan on Jan 5, hailing the miners as “the backbone of Shanxi province and the entire country”.

In miner’s uniform, Premier Li descended 300 meters onto the mine’s working surface and spent two hours inspecting the security conditions of the mining operation.

In particular, Premier Li asked about the mine’s gas density through a telephone call and urged relevant people to closely monitor the situation underground and guarantee safe production.