Header: Banner: Navigation: News Contributors Contact About /hr /page-header Body: Content: Article (Full): By Bitsmith Mon, Aug 11, 2014 This week I traveled to northeast China to check out a bitcoin mining operation. After being received at the airport, my contact drove me for nearly an hour to a part of the country more remote than I was expecting. This was my first time checking out a mining operation of this size, so I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I was definitely surprised by how off the beaten path it was. The surrounding countryside seemed to be mostly industrial and agricultural. The first thing you notice as you approach the warehouse is the noise. It begins as soon as you step out of the car, at which point it sounds like massive swarm of angry bees droning away somewhere off in the distance. It becomes louder and lou...