For more than half a century, Yanshan Petrochemical has developed from an industrial cornerstone built on barren mountains into a benchmark of China’s petrochemical industry. Now, it is undergoing a historic and in-depth industrial transformation.
Driven by Beijing’s non-capital function relief policy, Yanshan Petrochemical has officially bid farewell to the era of large-scale and comprehensive traditional refining and chemical production. It no longer expands production capacity for bulk oil refining and general chemical products, and has embraced a brand-new development model characterized by retaining high-precision and high-end industries at the headquarters and relocating bulk production capacity outside Beijing.
Notably, Yanshan Petrochemical will neither shut down entirely nor relocate as a whole. Instead, it is phasing out high-energy-consumption and low-value-added traditional production businesses, and fully pivoting to four high-end industrial tracks: hydrogen energy, advanced new materials, special oil products, and scientific and technological innovation pilot testing.
Witnessing an epoch-making industrial iteration, Yanshan Petrochemical is transforming from a prosperous traditional refining base into a core innovation highland for new energy and new materials in Beijing. Meanwhile, the lifestyle, work model of local residents and urban landscape of Yanshan are embracing a brand-new upgrade.
The development history of Yanshan Petrochemical officially started in 1967 with the approval of the Dongfanghong Refinery project. In 1969, the refinery was put into operation, ending Beijing’s history of lacking large-scale oil refining industry. Beijing General Petrochemical Plant was established in 1970, making Yanshan the country’s first integrated refining and chemical base. The commissioning of the 300,000-ton ethylene project in 1976 laid a solid foundation for Yanshan to become a national-level petrochemical industrial pillar.
This stage marked the industrial peak of Yanshan Petrochemical. The first ethylene capacity expansion in 1994 kicked off its technological upgrading journey. A second round of ethylene upgrading in 2001 secured its top-tier domestic production capacity ranking. In 2007, the completion of the ten-million-ton-level refinery strongly supported the supply of clean oil products for the Beijing Olympic Games. From 2010 to 2014, multiple domestic high-end rubber and new material production units were launched, establishing Yanshan as a national key base for new material manufacturing.
Yanshan Petrochemical began to prioritize green, low-carbon and high-quality development. It officially laid out its hydrogen energy business in 2020 with the commissioning of high-purity hydrogen production units. In 2022, the hydrogen used for Winter Olympic torches was supplied by Yanshan Petrochemical, making it a national benchmark for hydrogen energy application. In 2024, the large-scale hydrogen purification unit was put into operation, building Yanshan into North China’s largest vehicle hydrogen supply base. The gradual shutdown of outdated production units marked the official implementation of its industrial transformation strategy.
This is the final shaping stage of the new Yanshan Petrochemical. In 2025, the strategic layout of One Center and Two Bases was officially finalized, and the 200,000-ton high-end rubber project in Tianjin Nangang started construction. The main construction of the Tianjin project will be completed in 2026, while the 22 billion-yuan coal chemical project in Inner Mongolia will kick off construction. In 2027, the Tianjin rubber base will be officially put into operation, completing the full relocation of Yanshan’s traditional rubber capacity. The Inner Mongolia coal chemical base will be commissioned in 2029, finishing the relocation of bulk olefin capacity. By 2030, Yanshan headquarters will complete comprehensive transformation, with traditional refining and chemical businesses fully phased out and new materials, hydrogen energy and technological innovation becoming its core industries. The overall development goals of the Yanfang cluster in Fangshan District will be achieved before 2035.
2025 marks the 55th anniversary of Yanshan Petrochemical’s founding, with the top-level One Center and Two Bases strategy fully implemented, namely the Beijing New Material and Hydrogen Energy Center, Tianjin Rubber Production Base, and Inner Mongolia Coal Chemical Base.
In September 2025, Yanshan Petrochemical’s external supply of fuel cell hydrogen exceeded 4,000 tons, ranking first in Sinopec’s hydrogen energy production and sales volume. In December 2025, the 200,000-ton high-end rubber project in Tianjin Nangang officially started construction with a total investment of 2.416 billion yuan, undertaking the full relocation of Yanshan’s traditional synthetic rubber capacity to Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone.
The Tianjin Nangang rubber project will complete mechanical construction by the end of December 2026 and be officially put into production in the first half of 2027. After the project launches, Yanshan’s rubber workshops will arrange on-the-job employees to work in Tianjin voluntarily in batches, and the old rubber production units at the original site will be fully shut down and renovated into a new material industrial park.
In August 2026, the 800,000-ton coal-to-olefin project in Dalu, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, with a total investment of over 22 billion yuan, will start construction, undertaking the relocation of Yanshan’s bulk polyolefin production capacity.
In August 2029, the Inner Mongolia Dalu coal chemical project will be fully commissioned, completing the final phase of Yanshan’s bulk olefin capacity relocation. From 2028 to 2030, the renovation of outdated refining and chemical units at Yanshan headquarters will be fully completed. The vacated land will be gradually used for the construction of Western Beijing New Material Industrial Park, Hydrogen Energy Innovation Park and industrial heritage supporting facilities. This will realize Yanshan’s comprehensive transformation from a traditional refining and chemical giant to a core innovation base for new materials and new energy in Beijing.
The most intuitive change for local residents is the substantial improvement of ecological environment. With the full phase-out of outdated refining, coking and coal-fired units, the long-standing industrial odor in Yanshan has completely disappeared. The Niukouyu Wetland has been upgraded from an industrial drainage reservoir to an ecological park, with continuous optimization of air quality, water quality and urban greening, completely renovating the local living environment.
However, industrial transformation has brought short-term employment pressure. The gradual shutdown of traditional rubber, oil refining and general chemical units has led to post adjustment for some employees and a significant reduction in outsourcing and auxiliary positions, resulting in the public perception of a tightening job market.
To address employment challenges, the government and enterprise have launched comprehensive support policies. All regular employees are guaranteed internal placement, with options to transfer to new material and hydrogen energy positions in Beijing or work voluntarily at new projects in Tianjin and Inner Mongolia. For social employees, special job fairs, free vocational skills training and temporary job stations are provided to avoid large-scale unemployment.
Frontline workers have three major career options: voluntary assignment to new projects in Tianjin and Inner Mongolia, internal job transfer to hydrogen energy and new material positions at the headquarters, and independent career choice. Some middle-aged and elderly employees face post adjustment due to reluctance to work in other cities. Meanwhile, the settlement of CATL, new energy enterprises, Sam’s Club and local pension institutions has brought nearly 2,000 new jobs in equipment operation and maintenance, warehousing, logistics, technical services and life services, injecting new vitality into the local employment market.
Despite short-term employment fluctuations, people’s livelihood supporting facilities in Yanshan are steadily improving. With stable and bubble-free housing prices, Yanshan has become a rare affordable settlement area in Beijing, ideal for living, retirement and long-term residence. In the next 3 to 5 years, Yanshan will complete a comprehensive urban upgrading.
The vacated old industrial zones will drive Yanshan’s transformation from a single petrochemical production base to a green technology innovation, livable and elderly-friendly new city in western Beijing. Local employment structure will shift from assembly line manufacturing posts to diversified jobs including technical operation and maintenance, innovation assistance, new energy operation, cultural tourism and elderly care services. With optimized ecological environment, diversified employment channels, improved supporting facilities and enhanced livability, Yanshan will evolve from a traditional industrial town relying on refining industry into a thriving new urban area supported by new energy, new materials and cultural tourism and elderly care industries.
Yanshan’s industrial transformation represents iteration, upgrading and progress rather than recession. Tempered by half a century of industrial development, Yanshan is reborn in the new era.
The old refining and chemical era is fading away, while a new Yanshan featuring green development, technological innovation and high-end industries is taking shape. The industrial layout and production facilities are being upgraded, but Yanshan’s original aspiration of rooting in western Beijing and serving urban development remains unchanged.
The post adjustments and short-term employment challenges for some traditional workers are only temporary. With profound historical accumulation and promising future layout, Yanshan will surely embrace a greener, more livable and diverse high-quality development future, bringing happier and more prosperous lives for local residents.
