TAIYUAN, Feb. 4 -- Coal mines in north China's Shanxi Province, an important mining area, were ordered to stop production during holidays and on Sundays to cut production as the demand for coal dwindles.

Coal mines in the province will only be allowed to operate on 276 days in 2016, according to a coal mine work conference on Wednesday.

It is the first time such stringent measures being implemented in Shanxi where coal production decreased by 32 million tonnes in 2015. Coal has been the major source of energy for decades.

In late January, the provincial legislature decided to keep production under 1 billion tonnes per annum for the next five years. Production in 2015 amounted to 944 million tonnes.

Shanxi's coal industry lost 9.4 billion yuan (1.4 billion U.S. dollars) last year as pollution legislation took its toll. The industry had suffered losses for 18 consecutive months by the end of 2015 when price per tonne was down 66 percent from its peak in May 2011.

Shanxi has produced about one fourth of China's coal production since 1949.

Shanxi has controlled production in recent years in the hope of shaking off heavy reliance on the industry. The provincial government will approve no new coal mines for the next five years.