Coal, copper & chocolate and their irresistible appeal

In Qinghai province, Northwest China, over the past three years Chaka Salt Lake has been transformed from a highly prized industrial asset into a tourism draw.

Here millions of tons of salt are produced every year, a huge money spinner for the local economy, but not content to rest on its laurels, in 2015, a total of 325 million yuan was invested into making the most of the spectacular natural scenery the brine lake presents, laying on tours to show visitors how salt is made, and drawing on local ethnic elements.

The waters of the lake are generally so still that they produce an almost perfect mirror image of the sky, a godsend for tourists armed with cameras, and a train carries visitors from the banks of the lake to its center, where they can see salt collecting vessels in action.

Art performances and salt sculptures and health products are also available. The lake had more than 2.44 million traveler visits in 2016, bringing in more than 220 million yuan in tourism income.

Even greater plans for the tourist attraction are afoot, including a tour that would take in the entire salt production line, a salt museum and a big salt sculpture park in which visitors could fashion sculptures out of salt, says Ren Zihua, a tourism official at the lake.