Caka Salt Lake is located in Salt Lake Road No.9,Chaka Town, Wulan County, Haixi Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province."Caka" means a salt pond in Tibetan, which is the sea of halite; "Dabuxun nur" in Mongolian also means a salt lake. With an altitude of 3,059m, the lake covers a total area of 105km². Caka Salt Lake is the important station in old Silk Road, is the joint of G109 road and G315 road, which is 298km to Xining in the east, and 200km to Delingha in the west and is called East Gate of Qaidam Basin.
Around by snow mountains, Caka Salt Lake likes a mirror, reflecting the beautiful and magnificent sky scenery, which is known as the "Mirror of Sky in China". Tourist in the world of salt walking on the lake likes walking on the air and flying in dream world. In the four seasons, Caka Salt Lake has the different scenic, cloud likes salt reflecting in water in Spring, emerald-green lake likes jadeite in Summer, white flat and dry lake likes ice in Autumn, and the challenge of desolation and aridity in Winter.
With rich halite, Caka Salt Lake is also the first green edible salt production base in China. Recently, Caka Salt Lake is highly renowned in both international and domestic tourism circles, so that it has become another tourist destination in Qinghai Province.
Open Time(Actual time is subjected to Scenic Office):
Boom Season:5:30-22:00
Low Season:8:00-18:40
Tel.+86-0977-8246999
Recommended Tour Duration: 3 hours
Main Landscapes of Caka Salt Lake
Sightseeing Train
Small trains were the main tools of salt transporting in the 1950s. The gauge of railways is only 60 cm. Some of the rails were produced by Tsar Russia in 1904. Each small train can carry 20-25 buckets. Standing beside the small train, the image of the train full of halite salt coming from the deep salt lake constantly raises in my mind. Now it stays in the center of lake quietly, looking to the mountains far away, as if telling the great achievements of Qinghai Salt Industry’ staff.
Sightseeing Tower
This open-type steel structure tower covers a floor area of about 124.74㎡ and is 27.84m in height, which is composed of two steel stairs and a sightseeing elevator. The top of tower is and viewing platform, which can receive 90 tourists. Standing on the platform, you can view the entire scenic area and overlook the core tourist area.
Salt Lake Yacht
The Yacht Wharf covers an area of about 2,464㎡. The new channel is merged into the original industrial salt harvest channel, forming the industrial travel route in the east tour line. Sailing by the yacht on the artificial canal, you can feel the industrial legacy, and experience the busy the busy scene of the boating mining and transportation and the history in Caka Salt Lake.
Wheel Train
The wheel train’s starting point is located in the youth hostel in the scenic area, and the destination is the Mirror of Sky Square. On this way, tourist can enjoy the Salt Lake Avenue, Salt Lake Wetland, Old Auditorium, Salt Sculptures Group and other landscapes.
Industrial Relic Tour
Industrial Relic is located near the Central Pier, the core landscape of Caka Salt Lake, including Salt Lake water-bike, electric cruise ship, crystal boat and other online hot landscapes and items. It is a hot visiting point for tourists in Caka Salt Lake.
“I Love Caka” Platform
This wooden platform is located on the east side of the railway, with a total length of 180 meters. From the air, it looks like the word “CAKA”, reflecting the water and the sky. The beautiful scenery of sky connected to the ground is becoming a new online hot landscape in Caka Salt Lake.
”Love” Platform
This wooden platform is located on the west side of the railway, which is paved with anticorrosive wood, covering an area of 1740㎡, with a total length of 142m and a 525 m wooden railing. It connects the salt road and the lake. Its theme is "true love is like salt, for love brings salt". It is the best platform for tourists to get close to the salt lake, and also becomes a new online hot landscape in Caka Salt Lake.
Welcome Square
The Welcome Square is the first view of the scenic area, and it is also an important portal distribution place in the management and service center area, covering 23,000㎡. There are Sightseeing Tower, Connecting Corridor, Small Landscape, Tourist Service Center, Qingyan No.2 Hotel, Ticket Office, Parcel Deposit Service, Information & Complaints, Pet Care, Shopping Area and other landscapes and supporting facilities. In this square, you can enjoy all-around services of “food, accommodation, transport, travel, shopping and entertainment” and learn about the real-time information of the Caka Salt Lake.
The Salt Sculpture of Genghis Khan
Tiemuzhen (AD 1162-1227), the honorific "Genghis Khan", means "to have four seas", an outstanding politician and strategist. This salt sculpture is 50m long, 31m wide and 10m high, consuming 5800 tons of salt. The whole salt sculpture is magnificent, reflecting the king's style of a generation of “Son of God” Genghis Khan. Through innovation and unique techniques, it shows a fascinating art spectacle, realizes the perfect combination of salt and sculpture art, and creates a precedent for domestic outdoor creation of large-scale salt sculpture works of art, being the milestone of domestic salt sculpture landscape.
The Salt Sculpture of Meeting at Jade Lake
According to the biography of emperor mu in Zhou Dynasty, in the 13th year of King Mu, he led seven elites to take the ride of eight horses and drive on the road to west. He came to the state of the queen mother of the west, who met with him and gave him a banquet. They fell in love at first sight. And the Jade Lake where the banquet was held was a fairyland. They engraved stones and recorded achievements, planted trees and commemorated their love". Unexpectedly, there was a rebellion in China, so the King had to return his kingdom to take the war with rebel army and make an date to meet again three years later. Later, the King won the war, but due to the busy state affairs, he was unable to keep the date. Four years later, because the Queen missed King, she came to Central China to meet the King. This romantic love story is passed down to be a good fairy tale.
The Salt Sculpture of Jingpo Ethnicity
Jingpo Ethnicity, one of China's ethnic minorities, has a population of 150,000 and lives across the southwest border. It is mainly distributed in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, with a few scattered in other counties. Since ancient times, the ancestors of Jingpo people have lived and worked in the mountains in the south of the Kangzang Plateau, and moved to the northwest of Yunnan and the west-side of Nujiang River along the Hengduan Mountains since the Tang Dynasty. According to Chinese historical records, Jingpo people are the first people to dig salt in Caka Salt Lake.
The Salt Sculpture of Wu Xian
In the ancient times, there was "Wuxian country" established by digging salt. At that time, there was a huge tribe of witches living in Wushan and Wuxi. Wuxian tribe was the leader of the ten witches. Wuxian, the chief of this clan, might be the ancestor of the development and utilization of natural salt in China. According to the Classic of Mountains and Rivers, "Wuxian kingdom is in the north of the Nvchou Country, and his right hand holds the green snake." It is worthy to call Wuxian the ancestor of salt mining and salt producing in China. According to the Xian Bird lineage, "Xian Bird" is "salt bird". Some scholars think that it is because of the salt on the bird’s back, but also means the rise of salt.
Lake-Worshiping Oboo
Oboo in Mongolian means a “heap”, which is a stone heap, soil heap or wood heap piled manually. Carrying the happiness of Mongolian herdsmen, Oboo is a symbol of the local Mongolian herdsmen to worship Goddess Muyao Luosangma and to pray for happiness and peace. At the time of worship, pine branches or mantras prayer flags are first inserted on the Oboo; the mantras prayer flags and sutra streamers are written with lections; and then pine branches, cypress branches, highland barley and so on are burnt. The worshiping ceremony started since 1635 and a grand lake worshiping activity will be held in Caka Salt Lake in every lunar May 15. This folk custom is approved by the Chinese State Council in the list of China Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Mirror of Sky Square
The Mirror of Sky Square is the core tourist area in Caka Salt Lake, covering an area of about 60,000m2. There are Viewing Platform, Status of Goddess Muyao Luosangma, Lake-worshiping Oboo, Brine Experience Area and large salt sculpture groups such as Genghis Khan. They show the unique salt lake landscapes and salt culture, highlight the salt world and take you to appreciate the grand beauty of the beautiful landscapes such as "Walking in the lake just like traveling in a painting".
The Salt Workers’ Auditorium
The Salt Workers’ Auditorium covers an area of 1098.77㎡ and is located in the central area of the Caka Salt Lake. In the early years, it is the cultural gathering center of Caka Salt Factory. The auditorium can provide more than 400 seats to watch the performance. As the cultural focus and center of the Old Auditorium Square, it carries the bitterness and sweetness, laughter and tears of generations of salt workers; Today, the appearance of the Salt Workers’ Auditorium still maintains the industrial style of the 1980s, but the interior is completely new, showing everyone the memories of the old times and the yearning for a new life.
Salt Manufacturing and Transport Theme Landscape
These theme landscapes show the products and equipment of the old salt mining industry era, and gives it new life. They also show the whole process of raw salt from transportation to processing.
Climate & Minerals
The climate of the Caka Salt Lake is dry and cool, with an annual average temperature of 4°C, an average temperature of - 12.2 ° C in January and 19.6 ° C in July; the annual precipitation is 197.6mm, the annual average evaporation is 2074.1mm, the annual average relative humidity is 45% - 50%, and the northwest wind is often blowing, with an average wind velocity of 3m /s, The climate of Caka Salt Lake is a plateau continental climate.
Caka Salt Lake is a natural crystal salt lake. It is the main production base of edible salt in China. Because of the minerals in the salt crystal, the salt crystal is green black, so it is called "green salt".
The Caka Salt Lake is a natural crystal salt lake. It is the main production base of edible salt in China. Because of the minerals in the salt crystal, the salt crystal is green black, so it is called "green salt".
Caka Salt Lake is a natural crystal salt lake. It is the main production base of edible salt in China. Because of the minerals in the salt crystal, the salt crystal is green black, so it is called "green salt".
Caka Salt Lake’s resource is a halite salt lake deposit with solid-liquid coexistence. The salinity of brine in Salt Lake is 322.4g/l, the relative density is 1.2178, the PH value is 7.8, and the hydro-chemical type of brine is magnesium sulphate subtype.
Caka Salt Lake’s sedimentary minerals are composed of halite, gypsum, mirabilite, anhydrous mirabilite, Magnesium sulphate heptahydrate, bloedite and hydrotalcite. The salt deposit is exposed to the lake, with a most of thickness of 1.2-9.68m, a maximum thickness of 15m, and an average of 4.9M.
Since ancient times, Caka Salt Lake has been famous for its "Green salt", and it is the first green edible salt production base in China. At present, the salt storage capacity is 448 million tons, and the sodium chloride content is as high as 95%, which can be used by the whole country for more than 80 years.
About Caka Salt Lake Scenic Area
Caka Salt Lake is located in Salt Lake Road No.9,Chaka Town, Wulan County, Haixi Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province."Caka" means a salt pond in Tibetan, which is the sea of halite; "Dabuxun nur" in Mongolian also means a salt lake. With an altitude of 3,059m, the lake covers a total area of 105km². Caka Salt Lake is the important station in old Silk Road, is the joint of G109 road and G315 road, which is 298km to Xining in the east, and 200km to Delingha in the west and is called East Gate of Qaidam Basin.
Around by snow mountains, Caka Salt Lake likes a mirror, reflecting the beautiful and magnificent sky scenery, which is known as the "Mirror of Sky in China". Tourist in the world of salt walking on the lake likes walking on the air and flying in dream world. In the four seasons, Caka Salt Lake has the different scenic, cloud likes salt reflecting in water in Spring, emerald-green lake likes jadeite in Summer, white flat and dry lake likes ice in Autumn, and the challenge of desolation and aridity in Winter.
With rich halite, Caka Salt Lake is also the first green edible salt production base in China. Recently, Caka Salt Lake is highly renowned in both international and domestic tourism circles, so that it has become another tourist destination in Qinghai Province.
Open Time(Actual time is subjected to Scenic Office):
Boom Season:
5:30-22:00
Low Season:
8:00-18:40
Tel.+86-0977-8246999
Recommended Tour Duration: 3 hours
