Yuncheng Salt Lake 运城盐湖Yùnchéng Yánhú

Why go to Yuncheng Salt Lake

Known in ancient times as the Hedong salt pond, Yuncheng Salt Lake covers about 130 square kilometres along the southern edge of Yuncheng city, below the Zhongtiao Mountains. Walk or cycle the north-shore greenway past brine ponds that in warm weather turn shades of red, pink, yellow and green, then visit the Chishen Temple, which honours the gods of the salt pond, the wind and the sun, and the Hedong salt museum nearby.

The story

Salt has been gathered here for an estimated 4,600 years, and a local saying holds that the salt is born when the south wind rises, because the wind speeds the evaporation of the brine. In 1370 the new Ming government began paying merchants who carried grain to the Great Wall garrisons with vouchers for this salt, a trade that helped make the Shanxi merchants rich.

What to see at Yuncheng Salt Lake

• Colour ponds 彩色盐池: In hot, sunny weather algae and salt turn the ponds vivid colours. The lake's scenic area also offers sailing and hot-air balloon rides.
• Winter crystals and swans 冬季芒硝与天鹅: When temperatures fall below about −5 °C, mirabilite crystals form on the lake and give it a frosty look, and whooper swans visit in winter.
• Chishen Temple 池神庙: On the hill of Woyungang above the north shore, first founded in the Tang dynasty. Its three identical main halls, built in 1535, stand in a row looking over the ponds, and the temple also houses the older Hedong Salt Museum.
• Hedong Chi Salt Museum 河东池盐博物馆: A museum opened in 2021 in the city, built in the style of the old salt-field wall. Its six sections trace how the lake formed and how its salt shaped the region.

How to visit Yuncheng Salt Lake

Chishen Temple and the older museum are on the north shore at the southern edge of Yuncheng, so they can be combined with a walk by the water. The newer museum sits at the south end of Jiefang Road. Both museums close on Mondays. A half day covers the temple, one museum and the shore, and a full day can add the Xiezhou Guandi Temple.

How to get to Yuncheng Salt Lake

Take high-speed rail to Yuncheng North (about 1 hour from Xi'an North or 2–2.5 hours from Taiyuan South); the lake's north shore is on the southern edge of the city, about 20 minutes by taxi from the station.

Where to stay

The lake's north shore is on the southern edge of Yuncheng, so base yourself in the city, which has the high-speed station.

What to eat

• Xiezhou lamb soup with bread 解州羊肉泡馍: Torn flatbread in a rich lamb soup, long cooked with meat and bones, a signature dish of the Yuncheng area.
• Wenxi boiled cakes 闻喜煮饼: A sesame-coated pastry fried and dipped in honey syrup, from Wenxi county in the same prefecture.

Tips for visiting Yuncheng Salt Lake

• The colours come from salt-tolerant algae (Dunaliella salina) and change with heat, sunlight and salinity, so they vary from pond to pond and are strongest in hot summer weather.
• In cold winter spells below about −5 °C, white crystals of mirabilite (a sodium sulphate salt) form across the lake.
• The salt-history museums by the lake are closed on Mondays.

Nearby

• Xiezhou Guandi Temple 解州关帝庙 20 km
  Gateways, halls and towers honouring the deified general Guan Yu in his home district
• Yongle Palace 永乐宫 40 km
  Yuan-dynasty Taoist murals in a temple moved piece by piece to make way for a reservoir
• Hancheng Old Town and Dangjia Village 韩城古城·党家村 70 km
  Ming temples in an old county town and a village of grey-brick Ming–Qing courtyard houses
• Mount Hua 华山 100 km
  Sheer granite peaks, stairways cut into cliffs and a notorious plank walk

Also within 30 km: Guanwang Temple, Yuncheng 运城关王庙 (under 10 km), Fenghuang Valley Forest Park 凤凰谷 (under 10 km), Pagoda of Master Fanzhou 泛舟禅师塔 (under 10 km), Taipingxingguo Temple Pagoda (Anyi Pagoda) 太平兴国寺塔 (under 10 km), Changping Guandi Temple 常平关帝庙 (under 10 km), Yuban Ancient Salt Road 虞坂古盐道 (20 km).

On the map

Open Yuncheng Salt Lake on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Wikipedia (Chinese)