Chinese salt industry production

Timeline

1. 1351–1354Tongzhou salt field · LianghuaiSalt fields along the Lianghuai coast drew seawater into salt pans for sun evaporation and crystallization. Salt households built dikes, enclosed ponds, and repaired brine platforms, sun-drying salt in the hot, low-rain summer and autumn seasons; finished salt was collected and transported inland by the Salt Transport Commission, an important source of revenue for the Yuan court.
2. 1355–1358Ziliujing · SichuanSichuan basin salt wells followed a process of drilling wells to draw brine, lifting brine with bamboo strips, and boiling over stove fires. In the late Yuan, well salt output at Ziliujing and Gongjing was considerable; open-pan continuous evaporation was used, with brine concentration control and fuel use reflecting long-term technical accumulation.
3. 1357–1360Xiezhou salt pool · HedongThe Xiezhou salt pool in Hedong produced salt by sun crystallization of natural brine with stable output. The Yuan court set up Salt Transport Commissions to manage production and sales; merchants with salt licenses transported salt, and salt granaries regulated supply and demand. Though salt routes were disrupted in the late Yuan wars, salt production technology and the monopoly framework continued.