Xiechi Lake (), also called Yuncheng yanchi (Yuncheng Salt Lake) is the largest

natural lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

in Shanxi in Northern China. It is a

saline lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salt (chemistry), salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of ...

used for production of salt. In the summertime intense light and heat cause the algae ''

Dunaliella salina ''Dunaliella salina'' is a type of halophile green unicellular micro-algae especially found in hypersaline environments, such as salt lakes and salt evaporation ponds. Known for its antioxidant activity because of its ability to create large ...

'' to produce carotenoids as a protection against

free radical A daughter category of ''Ageing'', this category deals only with the biological aspects of ageing. Ageing Ailments of unknown cause Biogerontology Biological processes Causes of death Cellular processes Gerontology Life extension Metabo ...

s, due in turn to high metabolism. This turns the salt pans brilliant shades of violet, scarlet, magenta, and emerald (see photo in reference).

Historical significance

The most plausible explanation of the financial prominence of the province of Shanxi during the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

and

Qing dynasties The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

states that its salt works at Xiechi Lake fostered mercantile activity that would ultimately need banks, these banks would become the '' piaohao''. An imperial government salt monopoly persisted, with only a few minor interruptions, from the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

until the year 1370 during the second year of the Ming dynasty. In 1370 the army of the Ming began using its salt rights, known as ''yan yin'', which were initially redeemable only at the Xiechi Lake, to pay for transporting provisions to Chinese soldiers stationed on the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups ...

. As the Shanxi merchants were handling this lucrative business from its very beginnings, they managed to get a piece of the Ming state's monopoly and the imperial government quite likely netted more revenues of the salt monopoly because of higher overall efficiency. This policy that benefited the Shanxi merchants remained in effect long enough for them to accumulate a substantial amount of wealth for themselves, ultimately leading to their dominant position in the Chinese financial market during the Qing dynasty.

References

Lakes of China Saline lakes of Asia Bodies of water of Shanxi {{Shanxi-geo-stub