Supporting coal miners in Shanxi who live with black lung disease
Shanxi LifeSpark records the stories of miners and their families, and raises money for the breathing equipment they need and for their children's education.
Watch the documentaryOpens in Google Drive
The documentary
Watch the documentaryOpens in Google Drive
The documentary is an oral history of Shanxi families living with black lung disease. Miners and their relatives talk about the work underground, the illness that followed, and what it has meant for their families.
Scenery in the Distance
远处的风景"My stop is coming. What will I leave behind?"
Yanlin Zhao, writing from his hospital bed
Yanlin Zhao was the first patient I interviewed. He grew up in Licheng County in southeastern Shanxi, left home at sixteen, and spent thirty years drilling tunnels and working in mines, on railways, expressways and hydropower projects across China. In September 2023 he was diagnosed with black lung.
After my first visit in December 2024, Yanlin and I kept talking on WeChat, where his name was 远处的风景, "Scenery in the Distance."
Yanlin died in the summer of 2026. I compiled, edited and translated 33 of his poems and essays into this book, my attempt to answer the question he asked from his hospital bed.
English edition · PDF · 105 pages
What is black lung?
Black lung is the common name for coal workers' pneumoconiosis. In Chinese it is called 尘肺病, "dust lung disease." It starts when miners breathe in fine coal dust underground. The dust settles deep in the lungs, where it causes inflammation and then scarring.6
The scarring is permanent and there is no cure. It can keep getting worse after a miner leaves the job. As scar tissue replaces healthy lung, breathing gets harder, and many patients end up depending on oxygen at home.
Most cases develop over years of exposure, but intense dust can cause the disease much faster.6
Common signs
- A cough that does not go away
- Shortness of breath, first with effort and later at rest
- Tightness in the chest
- Higher risk of tuberculosis9
Prevention
- Dust control underground: water sprays and ventilation
- Well-fitted respirators
- Regular chest X-rays and lung tests, including for former miners
Small round scars appear, mostly in the upper lungs. Many people notice little at this stage, but the damage is already permanent.
Illustration only, not a diagnostic model. Real progression depends on how much dust a miner breathes and varies widely from person to person.
Why this matters
Estimated people in China with pneumoconiosis, the family of dust diseases that includes black lung.2
Living cases on China's official record at the end of 2021.1
Share of China's coal mined in Shanxi province in 2024.4
The gap between the estimate and the official count is the problem. Many miners never get regular checkups, and many fall ill after they return home to their villages, far from the employers who could be asked to pay for treatment.3,5
Reported new cases have fallen by about half since 2012, which shows prevention works.8 The hundreds of thousands of people already sick still need care, and their families still need support. The initiative's work supports UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being) and 8 (decent work).
What Shanxi LifeSpark does
The initiative works with coal workers in Shanxi who have black lung, and with their families.
Recording stories
The initiative films oral histories with black lung families and shares them online to build awareness and support.
Raising funds
Shanxi LifeSpark sells Lihou tigers, traditional folk art from Shanxi. It also publishes Yanlin Zhao's writing and runs community fundraiser booths.
Supporting families
Through a partnership with Love Save Pneumoconiosis, funds pay for oxygen concentrators and other breathing equipment for patients, and for scholarships for children from black lung families. So far the initiative has subsidized oxygen concentrators for five households.
Lihou tigers from Licheng
At Shanxi LifeSpark's fundraiser booths you can buy Lihou tigers, hand-sewn cloth tigers from Licheng County in southeastern Shanxi, the same county Yanlin Zhao came from. Making one combines needlework, paper-cutting and embroidery, and the craft has been on China's national intangible cultural heritage list since 2008. In Shanxi, a tiger is a gift for children that stands for strength, courage and health.10
Tigers and hanging ornaments sell for $5 to $15. All revenue supports Shanxi artists and miners' healthcare.
Partners and advisers
Love Save Pneumoconiosis 大爱清尘
A Chinese nonprofit that supports people with pneumoconiosis. They introduced Richard to families, shared their field research, and welcomed him as a volunteer. In return, Shanxi LifeSpark helps translate their research documents.
Ms. Julie Knutson
Teacher at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, who advised the project.
Contact
Questions, partnerships, or want to host a fundraiser booth? Email Richard.
Impact so far
raised for black lung families in Shanxi
helped to pay for home oxygen concentrators
About the initiative
Shanxi LifeSpark Initiative was started by Richard Li, who grew up in Shanxi watching coal trucks pass his school and now studies at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia. He wanted to know about the workers whose health paid for his province's coal, so he interviewed patients, partnered with Love Save Pneumoconiosis, and began raising money for families in Shanxi.
In January 2025 the project won the Sands Award, first place out of more than 60 projects at the school's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Capstone Showcase. Read the school story.7 In June 2026, the project was also recognized by the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.