[2025 Yuncheng Attraction] Travel Guide for Hedong Salt Museum (Updated Mar)

Don't miss the Salt Lake Museum and the adjacent city wall when you visit Yuncheng! The Yuncheng Salt Lake Museum is a unique exhibition hall showcasing salt culture. Built alongside the ancient salt lake, it carries the thousand-year history of salt production in Yuncheng. The city wall next to it, simple and unsophisticated, complements the museum, exuding a unique charm. Stepping into the Salt Lake Museum is like entering a time tunnel of salt culture. The rich exhibits, from ancient salt-making tools to salt transportation contracts, vividly demonstrate the important role of salt in human life and economic development. The interactive experience area also allows you to experience the salt-making process yourself. The city wall stands as a witness to history. Strolling along the wall, the bricks and stones seem to tell the story of past prosperity. Looking out from the city wall, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the salt lake.

The Hedong Salt Museum in Yuncheng is the only museum in China themed around salt culture. It is located at the foot of the Zhongjin Gate city wall on the north bank of the Salt Lake, next to the thousand-year-old Chishen Temple. This area was once the core of ancient salt transportation. Now, with 3,800㎡ of exhibition space, it tells the story of the millennial bond between Chinese civilization and a grain of salt, from the formation of the salt lake and its historical evolution to modern ecological protection. Woyungang, where the museum is located, was once a salt worker's living area and has now become a new landmark that blends ancient relics with trendy attractions. The Ming Dynasty Zhongjin Gate city wall next to the museum serves as a backdrop of time-honored history. It is recommended to take photos at lamppost No. 006, where the framed view of the Salt Lake, Zhongtiaoshan Mountain, and the city wall is known as the "Sky Mirror" of Yuncheng. ▫️▫️▫️▫️ ⓘ ⓝ ⓕ ⓞ ▫️▫️▫️▫️ ⏰Opening hours: 9:00–17:00 (closed on Mondays) 🎫Tickets: Combined ticket for Chishen Temple + Salt Expo Park + City Wall: CNY 39.9 for adults, CNY 19.9 for students 🚌Transportation: Take bus No. 88 from the city center to "Chishen Temple" station and walk for 5 mins; for self-driving, parking is available at the north square of Zhongjin Gate

Yuncheng has a close relationship with salt. The history of salt production can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. During the Han Dynasty, the government implemented the salt and iron monopoly, and Yuncheng became one of the important salt production bases in the country. In the Tang Dynasty, Yuncheng Salt Pool was one of the important sources of fiscal and taxation, accounting for about 1/4 of the national salt revenue and 1/8 of the national fiscal revenue, which was a pillar industry of finance. In Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Gu" Hedong Salt Pool also reflects the importance of Yuncheng's salt industry. Yuncheng's characteristic snack street "Gu Street" is named after this word. The museum is themed with salt, with some simple introductions to ancient salt production, as well as some cultural relics related to salt and the components of the pool temple. The scale is not very large. If you are interested in the salt category, you can come and visit, and the popular science is okay. The museum sells tickets separately for 20 yuan, and there are package tickets for the pool temple + museum + city wall for 39.9 yuan. The tour time is about 1-2 hours. There are pool temples around, and you can visit the Zhongjin Gate.