Housed in an ornate 270-year-old guild hall, this unique museum documents the course of the region’s salt industry, which dates to the first century CE. Salt was at one time valued more than gold, and by the late 19th century industrious salt merchants had turned Zigong into a leading industrial centre.
The museum tells the story through old photographs (some with English captions) and a modest collection of exhibits demonstrating how the extraction process developed. Built by Shanxi salt merchants in 1736, the building itself sometimes steals the show with its tranquil stone courtyards, beautiful woodcarvings and swooping eaves.
To get here from the Shizi Kou (十字口) bus stop, walk down the hill and turn left onto Jiefang Lu (解放路). The museum will be on your right after about 700m.