THE SALT BOOK: China - Yanjing Salt Terraces

The dramatic and unique clay terraces of Yanjing, or Tsakalho in Tibetan are situated on the banks of the River mekong, just before it leaves the Tibet Autonomous Region and enters Yunnan Province.

The name of the town lierally translates as 'a place where salt is found' and Tibetan and Naxi minorities of the region still produce salt in the same way they have for centuries. Collected from an underground saltwater table the brine is poured on to the clay terraces that cover each side of this valley bottom and left to evaporate. After 2-3 days the salt residue is scraped off, bagged and transported to town to sell.

The above images were first shot in 2003. In May 2010 I will return to Yanjing to update the photographs for the book.