Atlas of China
Zigong 自贡Zìgòng
Dinosaur bones, deep brine wells and the lanterns of the 'Salt Capital'
About Zigong
Zigong has drawn salt from brine wells since the Eastern Han dynasty, and its Shenhai Well, completed in 1835, was the first in the world drilled deeper than 1,000 metres. The Zigong Dinosaur Museum at Dashanpu shows Jurassic skeletons in the pit where they were found, and each Spring Festival season the city's lantern festival lights up giant illuminated figures. Salt merchants and well workers also left a cooking style of their own, fiery with pepper and ginger.
What to eat in Zigong
- Shuizhu beef (水煮牛肉)
- Cold-eaten rabbit (冷吃兔)
- Huobianzi beef (火边子牛肉)
Featured places in Zigong
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Zigong, City of Salt and Dinosaurs 自贡
Jurassic dinosaurs, ancient brine wells and the lanterns that made the city famous
Listed sites in Zigong
10 sites in Zigong are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.
- Former Residence of Wu Yuzhang 吴玉章故居 4A scenic area · National heritage site
The birthplace of Wu Yuzhang (1878–1966), who in 1911 helped lead Rong County's declaration of independence from Qing rule, later joined the Communist Party and became president of Renmin University of China. - Fushun Confucian Temple 富顺文庙 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
A Confucian temple in the centre of Fushun, founded in the Northern Song and rebuilt under later dynasties, laid out along a 160-metre axis from the semicircular pool and Lingxing Gate to the Dacheng Hall. - Jianshan Scenic Area, Zigong 尖山 4A scenic area · on the map
A rural hill area of 2.86 km² in Rongbian town outside Zigong, more than 70% wooded, best known for its peach orchards and the peach-blossom fair that opens each March. - Rongxian Giant Buddha 荣县大佛 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A 36.7-metre seated Buddha carved from a sandstone hill on the edge of Rong County town in the Tang dynasty, usually ranked second in size among China's ancient stone Buddhas after Leshan. - Xianshi Ancient Town 仙市古镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A salt-trade town on the Fuxi River south-east of central Zigong, founded in the Sui dynasty and for centuries a wharf and staging post on the route that carried Zigong's salt downriver. - Zhaohua Ancient Town 赵化古镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A riverside old town on the Tuo River in Fushun County, south-east of Zigong. - Former Rong County Military Government 荣县军政府旧址 National heritage site
On 25 September 1911, in the old county yamen of Rong County, Wu Yuzhang, Wang Tianjie and other members of the Tongmenghui declared the county independent of Qing rule and set up a military government, 15 days before the Wuchang Uprising. - Huanhou Palace, Zigong 桓侯宫 National heritage site
A Qing-dynasty guild hall built by Zigong's butchers and meat traders and dedicated to Zhang Fei, the Three Kingdoms general whose posthumous title gives it its name. - Yuchuan Ancestral Hall, Zigong 玉川公祠 National heritage site · on the map
The ancestral hall of the Wang Sanweitang, one of Zigong's great salt-merchant families, built in 1873 by the family head, Wang Langyun, in what is now Bancang subdistrict. - Zhennan Pagoda 镇南塔 National heritage site · on the map
A Song-dynasty brick pagoda in Rong County town, known locally as the White Pagoda: square in plan, with eleven storeys in the pavilion style above a plain base.
On the map
Open Zigong on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Zigong on the map