2023-07-19 11:29:37
Chinanews.com, Yuncheng, July 19th, title: 1000-day Yuncheng Youth Acceleration
Author Ma Huarong
1,000 days ago, the 4,600-year tradition of “digging, digging, digging” in Yuncheng Salt Lake, Shanxi came to an abrupt end.
In September 2020, the brand-new term “returning the salt lake” appeared before people’s eyes. After more than two years, everyone gradually felt that “chasing green” made this ancient city move forward faster and faster.
On July 19th, the “Overseas Chinese media trip to Yuncheng Salt Lake” event sponsored by the Yuncheng Overseas Chinese Federation, the Yuncheng Municipal Party Committee’s Internet Information Office, and the Yuncheng Salt Lake Ecological Protection and Development Center was launched. Representatives of overseas Chinese media from Europe and Asia were invited to gather Salt Lake, a close look at the changes of this great oriental lake.
“The Lake” – An Overlooked Property
Yuncheng Salt Lake, covering an area of 132 square kilometers, is the largest lake in Shanxi Province. It is even related to the “Huangdi Chiyou War” in ancient legends, witnessing the rise of Chinese civilization.
But in the eyes of Shanxi people, the salt lake is more like a “mine”. According to carbon 14 measurements, the ancestors used the “sky and sun reflection method” to collect salt here 4,600 years ago.
With simple methods and simple tools, people have been enjoying the gifts of nature for more than 4,000 years. Yin Bing, director of the Hedong Salt Industry Museum, said that when the ecological protection of the salt lake started and a museum needed to be established, everyone realized that it was so difficult to collect cultural relics related to salt production, because the production over the years, regardless of ancient or modern times, was not What decent equipment and tools are needed.
The resources of Salt Lake have nourished many people. Dali Village, Xiaoli Village and other villages near the lake, many of the villagers are from Shandong, Henan and other places. Their ancestors came here to seek refuge due to famine and other reasons.
However, the resources of the salt lake are not inexhaustible. From the mining of sodium chloride, to the mining of thenardite, and then to the mining of magnesium sulfate, due to the increasing difficulty and rising costs, Yuncheng Salt Industry feels the troubles from resources. Nanfeng Chemical, a listed company born out of the salt lake, has quietly faded out of people’s sight following experiencing the glory around 1998.
In midsummer, Yuncheng Salt Lake presents colorful hues.Photo by Wu Junjie
The most difficult “balance”
Approaching the Salt Lake, the field of vision suddenly widens, and the wind from Zhongtiao Mountain blows head-on. The long and narrow colorful lake water amazed every media person in this media trip.
The peerless beauty of the salt pond is not completely natural, but formed by people’s production and life dependent on the salt lake for thousands of years. The large and small ponds divided by the cofferdam system of the salt lake show a variety of colors because of the distribution of minerals such as sodium and potassium and organisms such as salina and artemia.
Cultural tourism is the next goal of Salt Lake. The unique natural and human resources are the confidence to “retreat salt” from Salt Lake.
At 10 o’clock in the morning, representatives of the Chinese media came to No. 22 Embankment. Dozens of species of wild waterfowl forage for food just meters away from people. Against the background of waves and green vegetation, the city on the north side appears to be well-structured and full of youthful vitality. Entering the core area of the Salt Lake, watching the display of various specimens and Artemia, people’s faces are filled with joyful expressions unconsciously.
The transformation and development of Salt Lake has also brought benefits to the common people. In the Artemia breeding pond on the side, Ma Changrong, a female collector, is busy in the water up to her waist, and the trawl net behind her is gradually filling up. It only takes 7 to 10 days for Artemia to grow from hatching to adult, so collecting Artemia is very hard work. In midsummer, people have to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to go to work, wear airtight waterproof clothes, and work in the salt pond without any shelter. Ma Changrong’s ancestral home was in Henan. Her previous job was to mine Glauber’s salt. After “returning the salt to the lake”, she switched to fishing artemia, earning nearly 10,000 yuan a month.
But the presentation of this kind of harmonious beauty of people and lakes requires a difficult balance. Water, wind, sunlight, microorganisms, and even the surrounding residents are all included. If you want to do a good job in the protection of salt lakes, these must be considered carefully.
Because the ecology of the salt lake is very fragile, even a small incident will affect its future. There are many such examples.
In 1757, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, there was heavy rain in Yuncheng in July and August. In order to protect the fields they cultivated, several villagers around the salt lake dug dikes to block the flood without permission, causing mountain torrents to flood into the salt pond, and the salt pond was called “the land of salt production”. Mother”‘s Heihe River was submerged. Since then, the surface resources of the salt lake have been destroyed, and the original salt mining method cannot be used. It took nearly 100 years to explore new salt mining technology.
The test of the “Warriors”
During the process of ecological protection and restoration of Yanchi, the identities of many people have changed. The steady advancement of this work cannot do without their dedication.
Cao Tianyi is the deputy manager of Yuanmingfen Branch of Shanxi Coking Coal Yuncheng Salt Chemical Group Co., Ltd. The name of his unit has actually “dismantled”. “Yuanmingfen” is a chemical raw material they produced before, and production has long been discontinued following returning the salt to the lake, but the name of the unit has not had time to change.
Today, Cao Tianyi’s job is to raise artemia in the salt lake. Artemia, also known as brine shrimp, is a high-grade feed for fish, shrimp and crab. He, who majored in chemical engineering, was still measuring the precipitation in the heavy rain in the middle of the night a few days ago. Now, apart from being an expert in artemia breeding, Cao Tianyi is also very excited when he talks regarding industrial sites, cultural tourism transformation and so on. In response, he said: “Because it feels like the future is bright.”
During the interview, Yin Bing, curator of the Hedong Salt Industry Museum, recalled the past events of the cultural tourism project in Salt Lake. Around 2002, in order to test “whether a person can float in the Yuncheng Salt Lake like in the Dead Sea”, a few people with good water skills were specially recruited. Everyone lined up to enter the water seriously, like brave warriors going to danger, and found that floating in the salt lake was very relaxing and pleasant, and everyone laughed. In the subsequent research and development and testing, the experts found that the black mud of the salt lake is rich in beneficial elements, which is very suitable for health preservation, and everyone silently sighed for the blessing of nature.
choose right between right and easy
The ecological protection work of Salt Lake is another liberation of the mind, and it is a miniature and vivid embodiment of the concept of “past China, present China, and future China” in Salt Lake.
Salt Lake cultural excavation protection and ecological protection and restoration are not easy, but the attitude of the residents shows their support for this decision. According to a recent network statistics, people in Yuncheng seldom complain regarding their city, which shows that everyone’s happiness index is relatively high.
At the end of 2019, the new team of the Yuncheng Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government took office, and the work related to the ecological protection and development of the Salt Lake began to be intensively implemented. In accordance with the “three districts and three lines” control and improvement plan, the creation of Yanchi tourist resort, the improvement of scenic spot facilities, and the reinforcement of embankments …
After the ecological protection and restoration of the “Five Lakes” in Shanxi is on the agenda in 2020, in 2021 the Yuncheng government signed an agreement with Shanxi Coking Coal, the holder of some resources in the salt lake, and 15 industrial enterprises around the salt lake were closed and relocated.
In July 2023, on the eve of the “Overseas Chinese Media Yuncheng Salt Lake Tour”, at the meeting to create a provincial tourist resort in Salt Lake, the positioning of creating an “international tourist destination” was repeatedly mentioned.
Right now, many Yuncheng people like to imagine a blueprint for the future of Salt Lake, and use it as a talking point, arguing and discussing with each other, as if they are the commander-in-chief. Because the salt lake, in the eyes of the local people, has been endowed with more meaning and carries the future of everyone. (over)
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