Yancheng Sea Salt

Yancheng Sea Salt

Yancheng Sea Salt is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Beautiful scenery in downtown Yancheng (15 photos) Yancheng was established as Yanfu County in the 4th year of Yuanshou during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty (119 BC). At that time, the area was covered with salt-boiling workshops and crisscrossed by salt rivers — the term "du" refers to a river used for transporting salt. In the 7th year of Yixi during the reign of Emperor An of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (411 AD), it was renamed Yancheng County, named so because "the city was surrounded by salt fields." With over two thousand years of historical accumulation, Yancheng is steeped in rich sea salt culture. In ancient times, it was famed across China for producing "Huai Salt" and was historically known as "the land of the Huai Yi people." As early as the Warring States period, salt was boiled from seawater, and according to *Records of the Grand Historian*, "the East Sea abounds in sea salt." During the Qin and Han dynasties, the region prospered through "boiling sea water for salt and digging canals for transport," becoming a thriving hub for fishing and salt production. By the Tang Dynasty, the Huainan salt fields, which were "the wealthiest in the southeast, supplying half of the military provisions for border regions," had "123 salt workshops" alone in Yancheng. During the Baoying era of the Tang Dynasty, the area housed the Haizhong Supervisory Office and the Yancheng Supervisory Office, boiling over a million stones of salt annually, making Yancheng an important salt production center along the southeast coast. 　　Yancheng is truly a "salt" city. In many local place names, terms related to salt production and management — such as "tuan" (團), "zao" (竈), "zong" (總), "丿" (撇), and "cang" (倉) — are still preserved. "Tuan" referred to a production unit in salt-producing areas, where salt households "gathered in groups to boil salt together." Each salt field was divided into several tuan, each with numerous salt households. In the past, place names using "tuan" were mostly found in the ancient Huainan salt region, including Dongtai and Dafeng, such as Nantuan, Xituan, and Biantuan. Currently, in downtown Yancheng...

　　This data is sourced from Baidu Maps, with the final result subject to Baidu Maps data.

　　...the name of Xituan Town in Dafeng is still retained. The city also has 18 villages and 48 natural village groups whose names are related to "tuan." "Zao" refers to the essential facility where salt was boiled by salt workers. There are six towns and villages named after "zao," including Toutao, Sanzao Town and Sizao in Funing, among others. Additionally, 85 villages and 368 natural village groups also derive their names from "zao." "Zong" was a unit where salt workers lived together in salt fields. During the large-scale "Hongwu Dispersal" in the early Ming Dynasty, immigrants came to the desolate coastal areas to boil salt. To manage the scattered salt workers along the coast, each salt field established several zong units in sequential order. By the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty, the Fu’an Salt Field in Dongtai had 30 zong units. Today, place names such as "First Zong," "Second Zong," and "Third Zong" can still be found in coastal towns. There are also seven villages and 37 natural village groups in the area named after "zong." "Cang" refers to salt warehouses. The present-day Bincang Town in Tinghu District, famous for its withered branch peonies, was once the site of the Bincang storage facility for the Wuyou Salt Field. The area also includes Sandong Town in Dongtai, as well as 11 villages and 18 natural village groups named after "cang." "丿" (piě) was one of the main tools used by salt workers in the late Ming and Qing dynasties for boiling salt. Shaped like an iron wok but slightly shallower, it had a diameter of about three feet and a depth of 3–4 inches. In the area, towns named after "丿" include Caopie Town in Dongtai and Panpie Town in Dafeng. There are also six villages and 13 natural village groups within the city named after "丿."

　　The production area of Yancheng Sea Salt covers 107.37 square kilometers of tidal flats in Xinyanggang and Huangshagang towns in Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province; 78.5 square kilometers of tidal flats in Dongzeng Village and Yuhua Village in Binhai Town, Binhai County; and 210 square kilometers of tidal flats in Chenjiagang Town and Huanghai Farm in Xiangshui County.