Part Four Salt Cities--Sea-salt Museum of Chinese

Part Four Salt Cities

2010/10/28 / [4199]

Between those cities and the coast, there are many salt fields, which produce a large amounts of salt. This was the primary impression of the 13th century Italian explorer Marco Polo��s when he first set foot on the ancient Yancheng earth. In fact, as early as in the Spring and Autumn Period, our ancestors began to take the advantage of the sea, to cook the sea salt. In Qin and Han dynasties, thanks to salt, many cities rose in this area. But it was not until Han Yuanshou four (BC 119), Yancheng, noted for its prosperous fishing and salt-making, was permitted to set up a county with Yandu as its name. Later on, in the Eastern Jin Dynasty(317-420) when all around the city is salt , the county was entitled "Yancheng", meaning "Salt City". In the Tang(618-907) and the Song (960-1279)dynasties, Yancheng, "richest in the southeast, semi-supporter of the soldiers�� pay and provisions, in the north and the west", had developed into an important salt production center as well as an important source of national tax. Up to the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368) the region has been the NO. 1 taxpayer ... ... Yancheng��s salt industry, a great contributor to the country's finance and the people��s life in the history, currently occupies less than 2% of the city's economic share However, it is still one of the most important sea salt production bases in China.