TAIYUAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's coal-rich province of Shanxi reported 756.44 million tonnes of raw coal production in the first seven months of 2025, marking a 7.2 percent year-on-year increase, according to local authorities.

As the country's top coal producer, Shanxi contributed 27.2 percent of China's total output during this period, said the provincial statistics bureau.

Supporting this production, Daqin Railway -- a critical coal transport artery in northern China -- achieved 9 billion tonnes in cumulative freight volume by Thursday. It handles about one-fifth of China's total railway coal transportation volume.

The 653-km railway, operational since Dec. 28, 1988, connects Shanxi's Datong with Hebei's Qinhuangdao port, facilitating coal shipments from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and western Inner Mongolia to eastern industrial hubs.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Natural Resources, by the end of 2022, the country's total coal reserves reached 207 billion tonnes, with Shanxi holding around 48.3 billion tonnes of these reserves. ■