Backyard furnace

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Backyard steel furnaces were used by the people of China during the Great Leap Forward (1958-62) when Mao stated that he wanted to double steel output and catch up with the UK in terms of steel output in 15 years. These small steel furnaces were constructed in the back yards of the communes hence their names. People used every type of fuel they could to power these furnaces, from coal to the wood of coffins. They melted any steel objects they could get their hands on -- including pots and pans, and even bicycles -- to make steel girders, but these girders were useless as the steel was impure and of poor quality, so it cracked easily. The Backyard Steel Campaign was one of the major failures of the Great Leap Forward, and indeed a factor in the failure of the Great Leap Forward.

Mao incorrectly believed that by matching the UK and the US's steel output, he could equal their economic power.