Chengdu furnace 1959Chengdu furnace 1959
A blast furnace in the countryside outside Chengdu, Sichuan. According to local residents this was one of six blast furnaces built at the time of the Great Leap Forward, 1958. On the right is the inside of the furnace, photographed from the bottom of the shaft. Its condition indicates that the furnace was probably never used.

Background to the Great Leap Forward