Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
were notorious for collapses and explosions, with a cost in lives that outstripped any other
nation's mines.
But the golden age of the Shanxi coal boss was drawing to a close. The government had
consolidated or closed thousands of coal mines, in a bid to increase efficiency and safety.
And the future of the industry lay in less-developed provinces like Inner Mongolia, where
huge reserves of coal waited in the ground.
Linfen isn't really a coal baron town; I hear they prefer the provincial capital of Taiyuan.
But even in Linfen, a crust of luxury is overlain on the economy. There was, for example,
the Audi dealership—a striking mesh-clad box that housed a sleek, museum-like show-
room.
“Our customers are mostly from coal mines,” said a young salesman called Yanlin. And
he didn't mean the miners themselves. Industrialists liked Audis, he told us. Executives
from coal mines, metal mines, coke factories. They came here to buy their cars.
A brand like Mercedes-Benz attracts too much attention, Yanlin said. Audi is a good car,
very good quality, but not as gaudy. It shows they are the boss, but is a little more low-pro-
file.
Even so, an Audi could go for two million yuan—three hundred thousand dollars. And
sales were still good, even with the recent consolidation of the coal industry.
Yanlin seemed to be getting a little nervous at all the questions, so we thanked him and
went to roam the showroom floor. I was less drawn to the cars themselves than to the dis-
play cases of Audi-branded accessories: leather wallets and portfolios, pens, an iPod case
or two, all stamped with the quadruple circle of Audi. The placard for a handbag read, in
Chinese, “This purse is a miracle.”
A pair of cufflinks caught my eye. They were engraved with the logo for the Audi
R8, a high-performance sports car. The face of each cufflink was mounted with a small,
lacquered checkerboard of carbon fiber. This was probably a reference to carbon-fiber com-
ponents used in the cars, but here, in coal country, the cufflinks took on special meaning.
“Everyone has to have their own style,” said Cecily, reading the placard. “These cuff-
links show your spirit and taste. Made with real carbon and stainless steel.”
Were there Shanxi coal men driving around wearing cufflinks made of carbon? It was
too good to be true, but one of the salespeople assured us that it was. He also told us that
there were health benefits to wearing the cufflinks—the carbon in them absorbed toxins.
But this harebrained theory was less interesting to me than the idea that the cufflinks were
some kind of badge of honor, a Masonic ring for that brotherhood of men who are helping
us seal the deal on climate change. (Order your own from the Audi Web site for $169.)
