hyesan has lumber processing mills, paper mills and textile mills. since the north korean economic crisis that intensified in the mid-1990s the city has suffered from economic stagnation and some factories in the city are closed. reports and pictures taken from the chinese side of the river show a "ghost city": there is almost no movement in the streets, and at night the city is dark and doesn't have electricity. residents of the city reputedly wash their clothes in the river because homes have no running water.