When summer comes, the glassy water of Yuncheng Salt Lake in China’s Shanxi Province turns a shocking rainbow. From above the lake looks like a painter’s palette, with dabbles of magenta, green, and aquamarine across the landscape.
Down on the surface, a yearly ritual has taken place for millennia. Workers slowly and painstakingly shovel piles of salt that are left behind as the water evaporates. These hunks of white crystal have helped grant Yuncheng a place of cultural and political esteem, and the chemical reactions catalyze an otherworldly landscape that enchants locals and phone-wielding tourists alike.
Nearby
Name | Since | Distance | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Huaqing Pools | 2019 | 179.8km | site_ao | ||
Abandoned China Medical University | 2018 | 224.7km | site_ao | ||
Yan’an News Memorial Hall | 2018 | 227.1km | site_ao | ||
Levitating Monks Fly Above This Wind Chamber in China | 2017 | 182.8km | site_ao | ||
This Terrifying Glass Bridge Appears to Break as You Step On It | 2017 | 291.3km | site_ao | ||
The Grand Canal | 2014 | 136km | site_whs | ||
Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” | 2010 | 196km | site_whs | ||
Yin Xu | 2006 | 323.1km | site_whs | ||
Longmen Grottoes | 2000 | 144.3km | site_whs | ||
Ancient City of Ping Yao | 1997 | 265.6km | site_whs | ||
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains | 1994 | 281.1km | site_whs | ||
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor | 1987 | 188.6km | site_whs | ||
Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor | 2014 | 212.5km | site_whs |
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