If you drive west from Haikou on the Hainan Coastal Tourism Highway to Danzhou’s Yangpu Peninsula, one of the most interesting sights is the volcano-rock salt pans scattered across the tidal mudflats of Yantian. These ancient saltfields have been in continuous operation for over 1,200 years and are also one of the earliest and best-preserved of China’s extant sun-dried salt-making sites.

With a name that means “salt fields,” and local soil that is too clayey and sandy to plant much in the way of crops, people from Yantian Village make their living from the sea. As far back as the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 C.E.), their ancestors adapted to local conditions and came up with brine-drying methods that combine the power of tides and sunlight to make salt. Still in use today, some people refer to this ancient technique as a “living fossil” of the Chinese salt-making industry.

The ancient method of salt production practiced in Yantian relies on nature’s rhythms. At high tide, seawater fills the salt pans with salty mud. After the tide recedes, salt workers wait for the brine to separate from the the drying mud, before moving it to stone troughs to form pure salt. The sea salt produced in this way has large flaky crystals that are highly desirable for many kinds of cooking. This low-energy, high-output technique was inscribed on the national Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2024.

In this modern era, the ancient salt fields of Yantian are not only considered part of China’s national industrial heritage, they have also become a tourist site. Many parents bring their children to experience the traditional salt making process and to see how traditional labor works with rather than against natural forces.

Locals have also developed a series of special products centered around the salt industry such as salt-baked chicken, salt-baked eggs and other snacks foods made with coarse Yantian salt. All of these are very popular among tourists. The dense mangroves of the nearby Danzhou Bay are an ecological area, bird habitat, and popular fishing spot that attracts many bird watchers and nature lovers.

In this place where people and the sea have coexisted for millennia, the salt fields are not just a traditional skill, they are also a way of life.