Why Zigong
Situated in the southern hill country of the Sichuan Basin in Southwestern China, Zigong is a prefecture-level city spanning 4,372.6 square kilometers. Positioned along the Fuxi River, a tributary of the Tuo River, the region experiences high humidity and frequent ground fog. Created in 1939 through the merger of Ziliujing and Gongjing, Zigong earned the title of "Salt Capital" due to its long history of brine extraction dating back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Local miners pioneered innovative percussion drilling techniques to draw brine from deep underground aquifers, utilizing natural gas byproducts to boil and refine pure salt.
Visitors interested in the region's industrial heritage can view the Shenhai Well, which reached a depth of over 1,000 meters in 1835. It continues to operate as the sole remaining traditional salt well, using manual pumping and boiling methods. Along the Fuxi River, stone-paved ancient streets feature traditional residences, capped well heads, and a hand-rowed ferry. Situated on Binjiang Lu street beside the river, the Wangye Miao Teahouse occupies a historic classic Chinese building that originally served as a guild hall for salt shipping merchants, now operating in connection with the Zigong Salt Museum.
Zigong is also recognized for its paleontological heritage and cultural festivities. Located seven kilometers northeast of downtown in Dashanpu, the Zigong Dinosaur Museum opened in 1987 following major fossil excavations in the Shaximiao Formation. The facility displays mounted skeletons of species such as Omeisaurus, Huayangosaurus, and Dashanpusaurus. Additionally, the city is known as the "Lantern Town in the South Kingdom" for its elaborate Chinese Lantern Festival. Tracing its origins to the Tang Dynasty, this tradition features grand light displays celebrated annually around the Spring Festival between mid-January and mid-February.
The regional Yanbang cuisine features distinctive local specialties, including cold-cooked rabbit, paper-thin Huobianzi beef, Fushun douhua, fresh rabbit hot pot, and Niufu roasted pork knuckle. Surrounded by neighboring districts such as Luzhou, Leshan, Yibin, and Neijiang, Zigong is accessible via four-lane highways and a rail network first constructed in the 1950s.
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