Two Men Working in a Salt Evaporating Plant

Title: Two Men Working in a Salt Evaporating Plant
Caption: Zigong Salt Works Processing Salt Brine
Identifier: SEFA_128
Alternative Identifier: Simpson Album p37
Description: Two men work alongside a row of large steaming vats inside a salt processing plant. They are scantily dressed, as it must be very hot inside the building. The nearest man has a surprised expression as if he were not expecting to be photographed.
Commentary: At the time, current day Zigong was called Tzeliutsing, which means "Flowing Well." This town was famous for its salt works whose origin stretches back at least two thousand years. Salt wells are dug to 2,400 thousand feet and natural gas wells are dug to 2,800 thousand feet. The gas is used in the process of steaming off the brine, seen here in the evaporating plant.
Location: Zigong, Sichuan
Geonames: https://www.geonames.org/1783745/zigong.html
Original Format: Photographic print
Is Part Of: Simpson-Estabrook Photo Album
Source: Courtesy of Kyle Jolliffe
Provenance: Curated by Alice Estabrook Simpson - captions written by Kyle Jolliffe.
Access Rights: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher: SIUE
Record Date: 2025-04-02
Contributor: Cory Willmott
Type: Still Image
References: Joseph Beech. 1920. The Eden of the Flowery Republic. National Geographic 38(5): 355-390.

Media: SEFA_128_Simpson Album p37 Zigong Salt Works Processing Salt Brine.jpg