Salt Well Temple

Salt Well Temple

Salt Well Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Salt Well Temple, also known as "Chuanqing Temple," is located near the Yanchi Hot Springs in Longchi Village, Yuxiakou Town, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County, Hubei Province. The temple was built during the Tang Dynasty but was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The site currently contains two Buddhist stupas and a ferry pavilion (also called the River God Pavilion). Relevant authorities are working on its restoration. Salt Well Temple is a provincial-level cultural heritage site in Changyang, Yichang, Hubei.

Salt Well Temple gets its name from the Yanchi Hot Springs, which in turn derived their significance from salt production, attracting ancient people to settle here over time. According to the *Book of the Later Han*, about 4,000 years ago, a battle took place at Salt Well Temple between the Ba tribe and the Yan Salt tribe over control of the salt resources.

An ancient "Titanic-like love story" unfolded here. The Goddess of Salt tried to persuade the tribal leader Linjun, saying: “This place has both fish and salt, vast lands—I wish to live with you and not wander anymore.” But Linjun replied: “I am destined to become a king, so I must find land that can grow crops. I cannot stop here.” That night, the Salt Goddess slept with Linjun but left at dawn and transformed into a flying insect. Other spirits followed her, and their swarming blocked out the sun. Linjun wanted to kill the Salt Goddess but couldn’t tell her apart, nor could he discern directions. This went on for ten days. Finally, Linjun gave her a blue thread, saying: “Tie this around yourself. If it suits you, we will live together; if not, I will leave.” She accepted and tied it around herself. Linjun then went to a patterned stone, spotted an insect with a blue thread on its chest, knelt, and shot it—hitting the Salt Goddess. She died, and the skies cleared. Though the encounter between Linjun and the Salt Goddess was destined to be a tragic love story, it led to the founding of China’s first historically recorded Ba Kingdom—the Yicheng Ba Kingdom. On the southern bank of the Qing River in Changyang stand five towering peaks, next to the famous tea-producing Wangyu Peak. Among them is Kuitou Rock, shaped like the head of a Ba woman and believed to be the incarnation of the Salt Goddess. Based on sacrificial practices and folklore, the Tujia people—descendants of the Ba—do not see Linjun’s act as killing the Salt Goddess. Instead, they believe that her union with Linjun enabled the prosperity and growth of the Ba people—a bittersweet "love child" of their legendary bond.

Moreover, Salt Well Temple was originally named Chuanqing Temple, and its earliest title was Niangniang Temple. Niangniang refers to Deji Niangniang, who is the Salt Goddess and also the wife of Linjun, consistent with historical legends and ancient texts. While Buddhist sites abound across China—and indeed the world—there is only one Salt Goddess, truly one of a kind. This makes the temple a sacred site where all Tujia people pay homage to their maternal figure, carrying deep cultural meaning.

Originally called Chuanqing Temple, Salt Well Temple was first built in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. It maintained an unbroken tradition of worship through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, with successive generations of monks and continuous incense offerings year after year. During the Qing Dynasty, it was once destroyed in a great fire. In the 57th year of the Kangxi reign (1718), large-scale reconstruction began, and by the Qing Dynasty, it had reached ninety-nine levels of architectural grandeur. The temple was a thriving center of Buddhism and one of the county’s major religious sites in the west. However, it suffered repeated damage during wartime and fell into disrepair over time, gradually shrinking in scale. After the founding of New China, the resident monks gradually returned to secular life. Most Buddha statues, ritual implements, and scriptures were destroyed during the land reform period. Only the Ancestral Master Hall, Earth Mother Hall, Ferry Pavilion, stone lions, and several damaged stone tablets remain—some repurposed as step stones, others lying scattered under eaves, silently telling the thousand-year history of Salt Well Temple. In 2010, a high-profile cultural relics theft incident shocked the nation. In 2011, the government undertook renovations to restore the temple and resumed regular Buddhist activities. The current abbot is Master Chuanyi.