Ningchang, in Wuxi county in the far north-east of Chongqing, is one of the oldest salt towns in China. Brine springs rise on the bank of the Daning river, and they have been worked for well over a thousand years; salt from here supplied a large part of the region and was carried by boat down the river and over the mountain tracks by porters. The trade made the town, and its collapse in the late twentieth century emptied it.
The town
Ningchang is a long, narrow settlement built along the river bank on wooden stilts, with houses and workshops in a continuous line, roofed in tiles and grey with age, many of them now empty or collapsing. Streets are half-covered galleries above the water, and the remains of the salt works are still visible: the wells, the evaporation sheds, the stoves, the storage buildings and the channels that carried brine between them. Parts of the town have been stabilised and a few buildings restored, but much of it is ruinous, which gives it an atmosphere quite unlike a restored ancient town.
The springs and the setting
The brine springs still flow, and the water is still salt; you can taste it at the source. The setting is dramatic - the Daning river running through a gorge, with steep wooded hills on both sides and almost no other settlement nearby - and the valley above the town leads towards the Wuxi salt fields and, further on, to the Shennongjia forest region. There are walking routes along the river and into the hills, and the gorges between Ningchang and the Yangtze are themselves worth the drive, with small settlements, bridges and a great deal of green mountain.
Practical notes
Ningchang is a long drive from Chongqing, in Wuxi county, and is best done with a car and driver as part of a trip that also takes in the Daning river country and the Wuxi county town; public transport exists but is slow and infrequent. There is very little visitor infrastructure at the town itself - a few simple places to eat, and accommodation in Wuxi. The site is partly a ruin, so watch your footing and do not enter collapsing buildings. It is a place for people interested in industrial and social history rather than a conventional scenic stop.
