Don't miss Yanjing on your way from Yunnan to Tibet: its unique salt terrace fields/pans using century-old techniques to extract salt, its fascinating multi-racial/religious population and the only Catholic Church in Tibet. The scenery around here is stunning with beautiful villages and ancient salt pans clinging to the sheer slopes on both sides of the Mekong River Gorge.

We featured an introduction to Yanjing (盐井) early this year. On our recent trip to Tibet, we took the opportunity to visit this amazing place. Local people are very warm and friendly, and the food is good.

Location

Yanjing whose Tibetan name is Tsakalho (擦卡洛) is situated in the south of Tibet, 110 km north of Deqin (德钦) and 115 km south of Mangkang (芒康), along the only road that connects Tibet to Yunnan (the so-called Yunnan-Tibet Highway).

The town is situated 914m above the Mekong gorge. Mekong River is known as Lancang Jiang (澜沧江) in China - at an attitude of 3,109 m. Yanjing has a long history and is an important staging post in ancient times on the “Tea Horse Trade Route” (茶马古道) where tea from Yunnan were transported on horse caravans to Tibet, India and further to trade.

However the town itself is well-known and important as it is the only source of salt for this part pf China for close to a century (until recent times when salt can be easily imported from other parts of China).

Attractions

The salt pans
Salt mining has been the main industry in Yanjing for a very long. There are no written records of when it all started but there were references to wars started due to disputes over salt resources in this region. Yanjing’s salt-mining technique is unique as it capitalizes on the long hours of sunshine and strong wind along the Lancang Jiang to dry the brine.

The salt pans are along a curve of the Lancang Jiang, clinging to the hillside. The reason that the pans are concentrated near the bend is the strong wind generated as the river flows south around the bend. These are multiple levels of wooden platforms covered with dry clay and supported by round wooden stilts. There are supposedly around 3,000 of such platforms, each measuring about 5m by 8m on both sides of the river. The sides of the platforms are about six inches high and this is where brine are spread out to be evaporated leaving behind layers of salt crystal.

The brine is collected from a few wells on the river bank, dug a few meters onto the river bed. Apparently this is the only place in the world where salt are collected from river brine; all the other salt fields are either from sea or lake brine. Farmers collect water from the salt wells in wooden barrels carried on their backs. These are emptied into salt ponds in their own courtyards and left there to allow the brine to concentrate. The brine is then poured onto salt pans where the water is evaporated by a combination of hot sun and wind- it takes 2-5 days to dry, depending on the facing of the pans against the wind. In Yanjing, all of the above chores are performed by the womenfolk. Only when salt is collected on the pan, is the men’s turn to collect them into bags and transported by mules to higher up the river gorge to be sold.

There are different qualities of salt being produced here. The top layer of the salt collected is the best quality, normally for human consumption. This can fetch 2 RMB/kg. The middle portion can be sold for 1.6 RMB/kg whereas the bottom layer- closest to and hence, mixed with the clay surface is only used for livestock feed and priced at 1 RMB/kg. For some unknown reasons, the salt produced from brine on one side of the river is red while that on the other side is white. Hence the villages on the banks are also known as White and Red Yanjing (白盐井和红盐井) respectively. During the spring months, the salt acquires a slightly reddish tinge as a result of the flowering season and the wind conditions; this is supposedly higher quality salt and is known as Peach Salt (桃花盐).

Salt is produced all year round, though the busiest months are during spring when the wind conditions allow the brine to dry faster. There are lesser activities in the summer months due to the frequent rain. Furthermore in the summer the farmers are more interested to harvest walnut (核桃) which can fetch much higher price than salt.

The Population - Culture Diversity
Yanjing town is divided into two parts- Lower Yanjing (下盐井) and Upper Yanjing (上盐井) about 5 km apart. Lower Yanjing (LYJ) appears to be the “original” settlement while Upper Yanjing (UYJ) which is further north is newer. The population of LYJ is also higher than that of UYJ. The salt pans are situated between the two settlements but the cliffs are so steep that the river and the salt pans along a stretch of the river cannot be seen from the towns at all.

LYJ has a huge Naxi (纳西族) population, equaling that of Tibetans; this is the biggest Naxi settlement in the whole of Tibet. The Naxi’s are generally farmers who live and farm higher up the gorge whereas most, if not all of the salt “farmers” are Tibetans. The Naxi’s here are distinctly different from their more numerous compatriots in Yunnan. The Yunnan Naxi’s speak a Naxi language heavily influenced by the Han language (and so has many Han words) while the Naxi’s here are more influenced by their Tibetan neighbours. Their language is a mix of Naxi and Tibetan; the Naxi language here and Yunnan are so different that they do not understand each other. Similarly the Naxi’s in Yanjing has adopted all the practices and traditions of the Tibetans- they drink buttered Tibetan tea, eat roasted barley tsangpa, live in Tibetan-style dwellings and are Tibetan Buddhists. In fact all of the population of LYJ is Buddhists.

UYJ is slightly different. Around 80% of the population is Catholic. Catholism was brought to this part of Tibet in 1855 by two French missionaries. It flourished around here but never quite spread to other parts of Tibet (except on the other side of the Meilli Mountains along the Nujiang but within Yunnan – please see our Nujiang trip and articles two years earlier). One can often see a local Tibetan donning a crucifix on his chest but apart from that, the Catholic Tibetans do not look any different.

The view of UYJ is dominated by the only Catholic Church in Tibet. The only visible difference externally between the church and other buildings is the huge cross on the wall and roof. Apart from that, it is quite similar to other Tibetan buildings/dwellings with colourful and Tibetan-styled windows, doors and walls. Within the compound of the church, the worship hall/building has some stain glass and frescoes of Christian figures.

Getting There and Around

There are regular daily buses to Yanjing from Mangkang and Deqin. From Mangkang, one can either catch the bus that goes directly to Yanjing or Deqin, which passes Yanjing on the way. The same applies to buses from Deqin.

The bus depot for Yanjing is in LYJ. The town itself is a couple of kilometer, lower on the slope, from the main road. Buses that go to or from Yanjing will stop and depart from here every morning. The buses that passes through do not go into LYJ but stop on the main road. Even though Yanjing is inside Tibet, there are no restrictions on foreigners and no checkpoints to worry about.

The salt pans are about 5km further down from the town itself. It takes about an hour to walk there from town- just follow the main street, around the curve and turn right at the end junction, at the edge of the farms. It takes 3-4 hours to walk uphill back from the salt pans. One can also charter a van to the pans for between 20-30 RMB for a return trip; the driver will wait for you.

Accommodation

There are numerous hotels in LYJ. All of them will take foreigners. One of the better one is the Yanjing Telecom Hostel (盐井电信招待所) which charges 40 RMB for a double room with attached bathroom. There is no accommodation at the villages next to the salt pans.

Yanjing has a unique local delicacy that is highly recommended. It is known as Jia-Jia Mien/Noodles (加加面). It is basically noodles served in a clear soup with minced pork and spicy condiments but in very small portions (slightly more than one mouthful). The noodles are constantly being refilled by the waitress as one finishes the portion until one had enough and request her to stop. This is a Naxi delicacy only served in the rich and royal families during the old days. One of the better restaurants that serves such a dish is the FungWei Jia-Jia Mien (风味加加面) in the centre of town, at 15 RMB per person.

Yanjing is a nice place to wonder around for a day or two. It is one of those places in China that is getting rarer by the months. It has a rural feeling yet has sufficient amenities in the town (no internet cafes yet) and good transport connections to major towns. The farms, Lancang Jiang and the salt pans are only an hour or so walk away.

Written by CBP in Sept 2007