Thousand-year-old SALT WELL (Yan Jin)

In 1983, Yanjing was established as a county after getting approval of the State council (Chinese cabinet), the county government has been located at Yanjing Town.

At the foot of Meili Snow Mountian, we took a bus which slowed along a zigzag road among the mountains, being crammed with passengers and luggage. The bus was followed by a smoke of sand and dust. There was little withered and yellow grass creeping along the sand-and-rock ground. To our surprise, there was a large-size piece of green land wherever human beings were found. Several white Tibet-style houses were enveloped in the green. As soon as arriving at a mere stone, we all realized that it is Mangkang County of Tibet Autonomous Region and it would be Yanjing Natural Reserve after taking another eight kilometers forward. A station for animals quarantine was set up along the road to strictly check out the vehicles coming and going. Not far away, among the primitive forest of Hongla Mountain to the west, it was the hometown of golden monkey, which has been the species on the animal lists under the State A-grade Protection.

Is it a fact that huntaway leads people to the treasury place with bittern?

Yanjing is located among the valleys, from where we could see the blue light caused by the snow on the peak of Pengbori (5,084 meters high above the sea level, one of the peaks of Mangkang Mountains), the deep scarlet slope looked like a huge body of elephant. The water of Lancang River thrilling through the valleys, it divided the three villages, Upper Yanjing, Lower Yanjing and Jiada, into two parts along the river, similar to a triangle. So the salt marshes were scattered on the riverbank, tier upon tier, looking similar to some ancient coffin being placed in a cave or crevice in a cliff (it is a custom of burying a dead person, prevalent among certain ethnic groups in ancient China). Such unique view forms a melancholy and unfold painting scroll, merging with the roaring waves of Lancang River, jade green cultivated land, trees and villages.

How Yanjing was discovered? When was it discovered? I was searching for an answer to the questions during my visit, but, unfortunately, many local people hummed and hawed or just gave me some ambiguous replies, such as "it's about long, long time ago" and "it has a history of about a thousand years".

According to some legends in Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region, it is said that Qian people (Naxi ethnic group) found the treasury place with bittern earliest. Maybe it is huntaway leads people to the place or they occasionally discovered it as some certain animals used to drink water here. It is easy to imagine that local people in Yunnan-Tibet plateau would be very happy to find the bittern drifting along just like discover gold mine. More and more people gathered here to rig up an awning to make salt by evaporating brine in the sun. Following the salt production, villages appeared and then, land was cultivated for crops, while thousands kilograms of salt were transported outside by mules to exchange other products for daily life. However, the salt well which made wealthy for local villagers was been envied. The two ethnic groups, Tibetan and Naxi, began wars for many years in order to vie for the land of gold. The story was been told in The Record of King Gesar, a well-known Tibetan heroic epic. According to some historians' textual research, Naxi ethnic group moved to the current area from Yunnan Province during Ming Dynasty (1279-1368). That is to say that Yanjing has at least a history of a thousand years.

Although Naxi ethnic group lives in both of Upper Yanjing and Lower Yanjing, which is separated by only a ditch, the two parts of Naxi have different religious cultures. People in Upper Yanjing profess Catholicism, and there is an only Catholic chapel in Tibet. And people in Lower Yanjing have faith and trust in Tibetan Buddha, and the white Buddha pagoda is built up on the roadside. The two religions in Yanjing coexist in harmony, which is regarded as a unique place of cultural interest.

The Lancang River is a river providing moisture for the fields and people on both sides. Not only does it bestow bittern, but also it has high-temperature clear water gushing out of hot springs, including Quzhika Spring, one of the best ones in Yanjing. Green leaves of trees make a shade near the spring with vaporizing fog. Tradition has it that the story took place hundreds of years ago. Dameiyong, a goddess, befell Quzhika, where local folks suffered from the outbreak and spread of epidemic diseases. People's hardship and miserable life moved the goddess into tears, which turned into 108 hot springs to ward off disasters and bring blessings to the villagers.