Burning coal casualty

Burning coal casualty

The formation of an ancient ice cave in north China's Shanxi Province remains a mystery even for scholars. Some of them try to offer new explanations. The ice cave is located in Luyashan Mountain in Ningwu County, Shanxi Province. Its mystery lies in that those icicles were formed in seemingly "impossible geographic conditions". Most ice caves on earth are located in extremely cold and high-latitude regions, such as Siberia and Antarctica. However, the ice cave is located at 38.5 degrees north and only 2300 meters above sea level. It is the largest ice cave discovered in China. In Ningwu County, the maximum temperature in summer reaches 38 degrees Celsius. But the temperature in the cave usually keeps below zero degrees Celsius all year round. Some scholars believe that the ice in the cave is remains of the ice in Quaternary period of ice age, dating back three-four million years. Others argue that there may be a natural ice-making system under the cave. After long-term field survey and research, Xu Ping, scholar of science and engineering department of Taiyuan University of Technology, says the formation of ice cave derives from its distinct geographical structure. SOUNDBITE (CHINESE) XU PING, TAIYUAN UNIV OF TECHNOLOGY: "The structure of the ice cave is just like a beer bottle. The upper part is narrower and the lower part is wider. It is hard for the ice to melt because the temperature is lower inside than outside. And there is a heat preservation system. Meanwhile ...