Site of the Jichengjing Salt Workshop

Site of the Jichengjing Salt Workshop

The Site of the Jichengjing Salt Workshop is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Site of the Jichengjing Salt Workshop

Zigong City in Sichuan Province is hailed as the “Salt Capital of the Land of Abundance.” It has written a glorious chapter in the ancient history of the salt industry. The brine-drawing sky wheels that soar into the blue sky are symbols of the diligence, bravery, and pioneering spirit of generations of people in southern Shu. Its tremendous achievements in exploring and innovating salt industry technologies have contributed to ancient civilization. It is understood that over the more than 2,000-year history of well salt production in Zigong, more than 13,000 salt wells were dug. During the peak period of well salt production from the 19th to the 20th century, Zigong was filled with towering sky wheels and billowing mist, creating an awe-inspiring scene. In the 1950s, there were still over 1,000 intact salt wells and nearly a thousand sky wheels preserved in the Zigong area. The sky wheel is a tool used to lift brine from deep underground. Each salt well had one sky wheel, making it the most iconic symbol of well salt culture. The sky wheel is a wooden derrick erected at the wellhead for extracting brine, maintaining wells, and cleaning wells. Historical records indicate that the earliest sky wheels in Zigong date back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Initially, sky wheels had a single leg, later evolving into two or three legs. The changes in the design and structure of the sky wheels were related to the depth, diameter, and the size and length of the brine-lifting tubes of the salt wells. As well salt production developed, the load on the brine-lifting sky wheels increased. To meet the needs of deep well extraction, the sky wheels evolved from low to high, from simple to complex, and from single-leg to multi-leg structures.

A sky wheel is assembled from hundreds to thousands of round logs and tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of wooden wedges. The timber used is all lightweight and corrosion-resistant Chinese fir. It consists of tower-like pillars, each formed by encircling logs, bound together with bamboo ropes into hollow columns with outer diameters of 40 to 80 centimeters. The sky wheel can reach up to a hundred meters in height, making for a spectacular sight. Most remarkably, these massive pillars made of logs can only be bound piece by piece from the bottom up. Each pillar comes together at a certain point, and finally, the brine-lifting cable wraps around the top roller of the sky wheel and drops vertically down to the small well opening on the ground. The height of the sky wheel is related to its brine-lifting capacity. Generally, a sky wheel needs to be 12–15 meters tall to lift brine at about 50 kilograms per tube, and 20–24 meters tall for about 100 kilograms per tube. A sky wheel around 20 meters tall typically requires over 200 logs, while those over 30 meters may need three to four hundred logs. A sky wheel can generally be used continuously for about 30 years and requires regular maintenance. Workers who assemble and maintain the sky wheels are called roller workers.

The Jichengjing Salt Culture Site, located on Shangfengling in Yangjiachong, Da’an District, Zigong, consists of four salt wells: Jichengjing, Yuchengjing, Yishengjing, and Tianchengjing. Covering an area of 25 mu, it is the region with the highest density of existing salt wells and sky wheels in China. Originally named Yufengjing, Jichengjing was established during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns of the Qing Dynasty. It now has a depth of 1,108 meters and a diameter of 10 centimeters, with a sky wheel 12 meters high. Yuchengjing, originally named Yushunjing, was established by the Shaanxi-based Li Shide firm during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty. It now has a depth of 1,213 meters, a diameter of 9.93 centimeters, and a sky wheel 18 meters high. Yishengjing, originally named Xijiangjing, was established by the Shaanxi faction during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns of the Qing Dynasty. It now has a depth of 1,018.8 meters, a diameter of 10.8 centimeters. Tianchengjing was dug in 1867 and put into production in 1913. It now has a depth of 1,188 meters and a diameter of 10.7 centimeters. The Jichengjing Salt Culture Site contains rich historical and cultural information, serving as a living witness to the development of Zigong’s salt industry and China’s well salt heritage. It reflects the historical and cultural value of the “Salt Capital of the Land of Abundance” and embodies urban historical memory represented by the sky wheels.

Starting from the 1970s, due to the decline in brine availability and the gradual replacement of sky wheels by more efficient mechanical extraction methods, the sky wheels began to fade from the historical stage. Before 2002, the four sky wheels and factory buildings at the Jichengjing Salt Culture Site were still in use. Later, due to outdated technology and national regulations halting the production of small-cell salt, the Jichengjing site—then under the Da’an Salt Factory—was shut down and abandoned. The sky wheels, buildings, and other structures were severely damaged, the well and stove facilities were lost, and the sky wheels were badly corroded and tilted. Following corporate restructuring, the 25-mu factory site was sold. Upon learning of the enterprise’s difficulties, the Zigong Municipal Government decided that after evaluation, the 25-mu land would be purchased by the Zigong Land Reserve Center and developed as tourism land according to urban planning. The Jichengjing Salt Culture Site was handed over to the Zigong Cultural Relics Bureau for management. In 2010, leveraging the successful application of the Jichengjing Salt Workshop Site for the “Geological Heritage Protection and Environmental Management Project of Zigong UNESCO Global Geopark,” the Cultural Relics Bureau secured funding for comprehensive emergency repairs to the site’s perimeter walls, four sky wheels, stove rooms, and salt warehouses. They also restored traditional production scenes such as pounding grain, brine extraction, natural gas extraction and transportation, and making potash salt.

In May 2013, the Jichengjing Salt Workshop Site was designated as part of the seventh group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected Area: Bounded by the current perimeter wall, covering an area of 1.46 hectares.

Construction Control Zone: To the north, 33–55 meters beyond the protected area boundary; to the west, the boundary of Liangkoutang Residential Area Road; to the northeast, the boundary of Renmin Road; to the east, 10 meters west of the street-front buildings along Renmin Road; to the southeast, the boundary of the community fire access road; to the south, the 30-meter boundary of the stairway beyond the protected area. Total area: 3.62 hectares.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units