The perforations allow more air to get to the coal and it burns much more efficiently

The other afternoon I managed to convince a local restaurant owner to drive me to several coal brick production facilities here in Ya’an.  These shops, which are often in the middle of town are simply redistributors of the same coal that is mined near the province capital, Chengdu.  Often a one man operation, they purchase large quantities of coal, break it down into a coarse powder and compress it into the honeycomb cakes seen in these pictures. You can see the delivery carts buzzing all around town and in the cities outskirts. The cart operators are easily recognized by a stained black outfit and a pyramid shaped stack of coal in tow. Continue reading →