In a recent resurgence of illegal gold panning, dozens of individuals were spotted wading into the Yanzi River in Kangxian county, Gansu province, despite repeated warnings from local authorities. The activity, captured in a now-deleted video circulating on Chinese social media, showed people braving the cold temperatures of around 4°C at 1 am, with some reportedly finding over 5 grams of gold in a single basin. This illegal practice has been ongoing since the start of the year, despite previous efforts by local authorities to halt it. The recent dredging work in the riverbed has seemingly reignited the activity, according to nearby shop owners. The Kangxian county government has reiterated that individual gold panning is strictly prohibited, with police patrolling the area to disperse those entering the river at night. In July, the county’s natural resources bureau issued a public notice banning illegal gold panning and set up a hotline for reporting violations. The Chengguan township government also warned in June that unauthorized mining was damaging the river’s ecology and threatening waterway safety. Under China’s Mineral Resources Law, all mineral resources are owned by the State, and no individual or organization may explore or extract them without official permission.