Chuan Chang River Scenic Belt

　　The Chuan Chang River is the mother river, iconic river, and economic river that runs through Yancheng city. Leveraging its natural spatial and cultural advantages, the Chuan Chang River Scenic Belt project integrates the culture and stories of Yancheng, carrying the city’s memories. The Chuan Chang River, which bears the city’s memory, also helps enhance Yancheng’s image. The scenic belt stretches from Xinyang Port in the north to Wuyou Subdistrict in the south, featuring seven major scenic areas: “Salt Character Square,” “Tang Dynasty Salt Administration,” “Song Dynasty Salt Administration,” “Ming and Qing Dynasty Salt Administration,” “Boiling the Sea to Worship Ancestors,” “Dripping Brine and Boiling Salt,” and “Bagua Salt Fields.” These artistic displays recreate the historical and cultural landscape of the sea salt industry along the Chuan Chang River. The entire scenic belt is divided into three functional zones: “Waterfront & Slow Life,” “Leisure & Joyful Living,” and “Charm & New Urbanism.”

　　◆ The Historical Significance of the Chuan Chang River

　　Why did rulers of successive dynasties place such importance on river construction and ensuring the unimpeded flow of the Chuan Chang River? It is because this ancient waterway carried the economic lifeline of the Huai Salt, upon which the government depended for survival. The main production area of Huai Salt was along the northern and southern Fan Gong Dikes and the Chuan Chang River. Without the bountiful yields of these salt fields, the tax revenue from Huai Salt could not support the government. As the ancients said, “The annual tax revenue from the two Huai regions equaled half of the land tax and corvée labor across the empire.” For example, in the 10th year of the Shunzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty, the total national tax revenue was 2.128 million taels, while the Huai Salt tax alone accounted for 1.197 million taels, making up 56.3% of the national salt tax. By the third year of the Kangxi reign, the Huai Salt tax comprised 64.5% of the national revenue, and even by the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign, it still accounted for 40.8% of the national tax revenue. This shows how vital the Huai Salt production areas along the Chuan Chang River were to the nation. No wonder local officials and salt administration personnel throughout history, in order to keep their positions, continuously strived for achievements and prioritized the dredging and maintenance of the Chuan Chang River and the salt transport canals as their foremost governance task. Romantic artists praised the Chuan Chang River as the mother river, whose waters nourished the fertile fields and crops along its banks like a mother’s sweet milk. Merchants who traveled across the country lauded the Chuan Chang River as the “water corridor” of the central and northern parts of Jiangsu’s Lixiahe region. When overland transportation was underdeveloped, it indeed served a unique function in facilitating waterborne transport.

　　Source: Yancheng Haian Historical and Cultural Scenic Area