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Hidden Heijing Old Town

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Christy Huang's picture
Christy Huang
posted on Monday, November 30th 2015 at 23:42
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( Old Towns of Yunnan, Heijing )

The quite fameless Old Town of Heijing (黑井古镇) - today one of the nicest in Yunnan - used to be famous for the high-quality salt which was produced there since hundreds of years. The once most important town of Yunnan is hidden at the banks of Longchuan River in Lufeng County of Chuxiong Prefecture of Yunnan.

Salt production in bigger scale began in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and peaked during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) Dynasties. Besides the overall beautiful picture of Hejing and its surroundings, there are a couple of scenic spots worth mentioning:

  • the Courtyard of Family Wu,
  • the Ancient Salt Workshop,
  • the Dalong Shrine as well as
  • the Heiniu Salt Well.

The Courtyard of Family Wu used to be the residence of former salt tycoon of Heijing Old Town. The mansion was built during 21 years in mid 19th century and is formed in the shape of the Chinese character wang (王), which means king. It has 108 rooms, which have been left more or less unchanged. Today it serves as an (expensive) hotel for Heijing visitors.

The Ancient Salt Workshop was Heijing's core place and fortune fountain. The remained huge water wheels and stages for making salt testify the great prosperity of the bygone times.

The salt produced in Heijing is as white as snow. It was and is used for preserving Yunnan's well-known Xuanwei Ham.

 

How to get to Heijing (about 200 km west of Kunming)

By Bus:

  • From Kunming's Western Bus Terminal via Lufeng or Chuxiong. Takes about 5-6 hours.

By Train:

  • Train no. 6162; 07:10 – 10:09; (2 hours and 59 minutes)
  • Train no. K114; 08:50 – 10:48; (2 hours and 58 minutes)
    • RMB 112.5 (Soft Sleeper category);
    • RMB 74.5 (Hard Sleeper category);
    • RMB 28.5 (Hard Seat category)

By Car:

  • About 200 km, about 3-4 hours

 

Heijing to Kunming

By train:

  • Train no. K145; 06:48 – 09:25; (2 hours and 37 minutes)
  • Train no. 6162; 19:05 – 21:56; (2 hours and 51 minutes)
    • RMB 112.5 per soft sleeper ticket;
    • RMB 74.5 per hard sleeper ticket;
    • RMB 28.5 per hard seat / standing by ticket.