Photo taken shows the brine pond used for producing salt in Naxi Township of Markham County, Chamdo Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Recently, an opening ceremony was held to crown the ancient salt pan with millennium history the National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in Naxi Township of Markham County, Chamdo Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

According to Liu Faming, party secretary of the Naxi Township that the salt pans are mainly distributed in three places, including Yanjing Village, Jiada Village and Naxi Village of Naxi Township.

Located in the Ancient Tea Horse Road, people from the Naxi Township has begun to produce salt by the brine water since a thousand years ago.

Photo taken shows the ancient salt pan in the Jiada Village of Naxi Township of Markham County, Chamdo Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

In ancient times, salt selling was the primary source of income for local villagers.

The salt production process is quite simple, and can be divided into three steps. First, put the brine into the salt pans and then let it dry, the process of which usually lasts seven to eight days, and after most of evaporation, people can collect the leaving white salt. Usually, the upper layer of the salt is better than the lower layer.