A bird's-eye view of the salt works outside Taizhou city. [Photo/WeChat ID: tztour]
Taizhou in East China's Jiangsu province is an ancient city that has grown with its salt industry and the taxes that it has attracted over the countless centuries.
Historical records show that salt was the pillar industry during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and that the production of sea salt in Taizhou left the city abundant with cultural legacies from the salt taxes.
Taizhou is home to many cultural sites, relics and ancient books, which bear witness to its unique reliance on salt taxes. As times goes by, salt production has proved invaluable to Taizhou's cultural prosperity and salt tax has become an inseparable part of the metropolis.
The Jiangsu Salt Tax Museum in Taizhou is a cultural venue in the traditional Chinese style. With the help of modern technologies, visitors get a better understanding of Taizhou's salt tax culture through its impressive historical records, detailed materials and cultural relics.
The front facade of the Jiangsu Salt Tax Museum. [Photo/WeChat ID: tztour]
Indeed, Shuiwu Jie (Tax Street), Shuiwu Shaobing (Tax-baked rolls) and the Salt Canal Park have become important symbols of Taizhou's tax culture. Indeed, the Taizhou Shuiwu Qiao, or Tax Bridge, was built on the proceeds of the salt tax. Elsewhere, the Shuibei Pavilion is a witness of the ups and downs of this ancient salt canal.
A bird's eye-view of the Taizhou's salt canal [Photo/WeChat ID: tztour]
The ancient Salt Canal traversing Taizhou has nurtured its people on both sides and contributed endlessly to the prosperity of the Taizhou canal culture. It is also known as the mother river of Taizhou, where many historical figures have paid a visit and referred to it in classical literature.