Mining hub seeks other ways to turn an honest penny as reserves of precious metal start to decline

China's gold capital, Zhaoyuan, used to be the very model of optimism. As the country basked in economic success and the city in Shandong province faced the possibility of stiffer economic competition from its neighbors, there was always a loud chorus of reassurance: "Our gold-filled mines will always keep us ahead."

But the shaky premises on which that hope was built have begun to dawn in Zhaoyuan as the price of gold has fallen this year and as it has become clearer that the city's gold mines are not bottomless.