Salt History Museum

» Zigong, Si Chuan

Salt History Museum Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information

The Salt History Museum is a specialized museum of Chinese technological history in the salt town of Zigong in Sichuan Province, western China. It is the only one of its kind in the whole of China.

Something needs to know

The site of the museum was built in 1736 as the Xiqing Guildhall in the first year of Qianlong, funded by the Shaanxi salt tradesmen, and used a meeting place for salt merchants from Shaanxi province the main conduit for the Zigong salt. The guildhall took sixteen years to complete and cost a lot.

What it displays

Built in 1959, the museum's mission is to collect, study, preserve and display implements and artifacts relating to salt mining. Large scale mural paintings depict the 2,000 year evolution of mine drilling, salt making, and natural gas usage. The museum exhibits over 1,300 different implements including a complete set of over 500 drilling tools.

Most of the items displayed are exceptionally advanced for their time. They exemplify not only the prosperity of Zigong's salt making industry, but also the wisdom and engineering skills of the indigenous Chinese people. Visitors to the museum, numbering about 20,000 annually, are actually permitted to operate many of the salt mining devices.

Significant displays

Among these items, one significant display is a unique and treasured collection of over 130 different types of ancient Chinese well-salt drilling tools, represented by over 500 individual pieces. This display illustrates, through the different sizes, weights and shapes of tools, what must have been required to deal with the complicated situations faced in well-salt mining.

Other displays in the museum show well-salt historical cultural relics. All this is of great value for research on social economy of that era. They exemplify not only the prosperity of Zigong's salt making industry, but also the wisdom and engineering skills of the indigenous Chinese people.

The Display of the Well-Salt Production Technological Development re-presents the evolution and development of well-salt production technologies in well drilling, salt collection, natural gas exploitation and salt making, demonstrates the ancient well-salt production techniques with drilling technology as the core, and reflects the wisdom and creative ability of ancient Chinese.

Two major structures

The museum is composed of two major structures, Xiqin Assembly Hall and Wangye Temple-both of which are major protected cultural relics.

Xiqin Assembly Hall

Xiqin Assembly Hall, along with its attached buildings covers an area of 6,303 square meters (about 1.6 acres). This hall was built by merchants from Shaanxi Province in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), and was later expanded. These merchants reportedly came to Zigong to engage in the salt business and became quite wealthy. The hall was built at a cost over 50,000 tael (about 12,195,000 dollars) and was intended to show off the merchants' financial strength and to provide a place for local citizens to congregate.

This hall is a masterpiece combining the palatial architectural styles of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties with the folk architectural styles. Therefore, besides salt history, travelers can also appreciate the magnificent quintessence among ancient constructions here. The building itself is an architectural masterpiece combining the palatial styles of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties with regional folk styles.

Wangye Temple

Wangye Temple was also established in the Qing Dynasty and added a drama house later. Much of the early structure was destroyed in the ensuing years. The property was repaired and restored by the government in 1984. The drama house is surrounded by wooden railings carved with depictions of nature as well as historical characters. It also houses a tea room where visitors can relax and enjoy refreshments.

Attractions around » Zigong, Si Chuan

Cultural Site

• Dinosaur Museum
• Salt History Museum

Salt History Museum Highlights

Museum in Great China

• Forbidden City
• Terracotta Warriors and Horses
• Shaanxi Provincial History Museum
• Sanxingdui Ruins
• Dunhuang Museum
• National Museum of China
• Shanghai Museum
• Weijin Art Gallery
• Gansu Provincial Museum
• Xi'an Banpo Museum
• Dinosaur Museum
• Han Yang Ling Museum
• Forest of Stone Steles Museum
• Tibet Museum
• Jingdezhen Ceramic History Museum
• Dongba Museum
• Chongqing Three Gorges Museum
• Hubei Provincial Museum
• Shanghai History Museum
• Great Wall Museum
• Memorial Hall to the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre
• Han Dynasty Tomb Museum
• Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
• Xianyang Museum
• Shandong Provincial Museum
• Nanjing Museum
• Meteorite Museum
• Salt History Museum
• Inner Mongolia Museum
• Hunan Provincial Museum
• National Tea Museum
• China National Silk Museum
• Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Luoyang Museum
• Chen Family Temple

Salt History Museum FAQ & Travelers's Tips

  Weather

1. The land and climate of Sichuan diverse a lot

  Shopping

1. Best souvenirs

  Customs

1. Folk Customs

  Other Hints

1. Be careful of Mountain Sickness
2. Emergency numbers
3. Warning from the earthquake
4. Take care of yourself on altitude place

• The land and climate of Sichuan diverse a lot

  Sichuan is bordered by the Tibetan Plateau in the west and by the Three Gorges and the Yangtze River in the east.

  The eastern part of the Sichuan basin is ringed by lofty mountains and experiences a subtropical and humid climate.

  The western part is considered the highland area and experiences frequent fog with intense sunlight, but low temperatures.

  The annual rainfall in this province is 1000 millimeters and the average annual temperature is 16.5 C.

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• Best souvenirs

  Near Chengdu is Emei City. There you can buy one of the best tea of China. The jasmine tea, a kind of the green tea is scented by flowers during the night.

  Come back to your country with some packs of tea. The China will stay in your mind when you smell the perfume of jasmine flowers.

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• Be careful of Mountain Sickness

  If you go to Huanglong valley, 155 miles away from Chengdu, please take the altitude into consideration.

  For most travellers can not resist the appealing of Huanglong Temple on the summit and the most beautiful five color pool at its back. It really deserves for a bight-yellow temple atop surrounded by mountains creat a harmony between the temple and the nature. But remember the Huanglong Temple is over 3300 meters above the sea level.

  Mountain sickness would be a problem for some people.

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• Folk Customs

  As one of the largest provinces, Sichuan has more than 15 minority ethnic groups living side by side with the Han people.

  Among these are the Yi, Hui, Quian, Tibetan and Miao people. Each of these minorities has its own charm, ethnic style and folk customs.

  Each of the minorities also has its own festivals. Some of the local festivals are; the Leshan Giant Buddha International Tourist Festival, Southland Ice and Snow Festival, Liangshan Yi Ethnic Minority Torch Festival and Zigong Lantern Festival.

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• Emergency numbers

  Ambulance: 120
  Emergencies: 110
  Fire: 119
  Tel No. Enquiry: 114
  Police: 110

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• Warning from the earthquake

  Sichuan suffered a catastrophic earthquake on May 12, 2008 centered on Wenchuan County, about 100km north of Chengdu city. Many cities have been nearly completaly destroyed and over 80,000 people are dead or missing with hundreds of thousands more injured or homeless.

  There have been many smaller quakes in the following weeks. As of late May, these are still continuing.

  There is also tension in Western Sichuan between the Chinese government and the mainly Tibetan people there and travel restrictions may apply to this area.

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• Take care of yourselfon altitude place

  In many of Sichuan's main attractions are located at altitudes above 3,000 meters and thus altitude sickness is a threat.

  Make sure to monitor your own health and take it easy for a day or two if your moving from the low lands to higher elevations.

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