Glass Salt

Glass Salt

　　　　Glass Salt, a specialty of Qinghai. It is produced in the salt lakes around Dafeng Mountain in the Qaidam Basin. Its crystals are crystal-clear and transparent, uniformly square-shaped regardless of size, resembling crystals, hence also called Crystal Salt. Glass Salt is an invaluable material for manufacturing optical testing lenses, widely used in the optical industry such as infrared spectrum instruments, and is also an excellent material for carving. The salt typically forms block shapes, with larger pieces weighing several hundred kilograms and smaller ones weighing a few kilograms. Its transparency can rival that of glass. Freshly unearthed Glass Salt comes in colors such as yellow, orange, blue, pink, and milky white. It not only holds significant collection value but also important industrial and precious arts and crafts value. The exhibit displayed in the Qinghai Hall of the Great Hall of the People—a salt-carved artwork featuring Mao Zedong’s poem “Snow” (Qinyuan Chun Xue)—is crafted from Glass Salt.