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Asian Corridor in Heaven

< The Salt in Yanjing,
The Crystal by Woman >

Yanjing in Eastern Tibet

This is Yanjing in Eastern Tibet.

Lining the steep banks of the river are

structures that are reminiscent
of rice terraces.

People are bustling about.

What are they doing here?

The white powder that this woman
is collecting is salt.

These are salt pans.

It's amazing to find them here,

thousands of kilometers

from the sea.

Three villages in the Lancang River Valley
possess salt pans.

Upper and Lower Yanjing are located
on the eastern side of the river,

and the village of Jiada is located
on the western side.

So how is it possible to make salt
so deep in the mountains?

The secret is in these
tower-like wells.

Salty water gushes from them.

These towers were built around the wells

to keep water from the flooding river
from getting into them.

In all, there are 10 saltwater
wells in Lower Yanjing.

The name of this
place, Yanjing,

means salt well in Chinese.

When the water level gets low,

the women must climb
10 meters down into

the narrow wells using
a steep ladder.

When a bucket is filled with saltwater,

it weighs no less than 35 kilograms.

They're even heavy to the men.

The Naxi women of Lower Yanjing

climb this steep and precarious path

with their burdensome buckets
some 3 to 400 times a day.

Across the river is Jiada,
a Tibetan village.

There are approximately 500 more
salt pans here than in Lower

Yanjing, totalling
around 1,700 in all.

Because the salt from Jiada has
a red hue, it is called red salt.

The red colour comes from the red clay
in the salt pans here.

The water drawn from the communal
wells here is

not taken directly to the salt pans.

First, it is stored in private ponds for

about 3 days to allow the impurities
to settle to the bottom

and raise the concentration
of the salt.

The saltwater here gushes

from crevices in the
rocks like springs.

There are dozens of
saltwater springs here.

The people of Jiada call these
springs a gift from the gods.

But these gifts

bring suffering and anguish
to the women here.

Each bucket holds at least 10 kilograms
of water, and we carry two of them.

We carry them back and forth anywhere

from 50 to 100 times a day.

The more water you collect,
the more concentrated the saltwater,

resulting in higher quality
and more expensive salt.

We've been doing this

for generations now,

and I'm sure the tradition will be
passed down to our daughters.

When the water is put into the salt pans,
it is poured into a large wicker basket

so as not to dent the
surface of the salt pan.

These people have
been making salt

this way for a thousand years.

They are making it using the most
primitive method in the world.

The women of Yanjing call

salt the gift of the
wind and sun.

But it can only be made with

their sweat and tears.

Salt is also made
underneath the salt pans

in the form of stalactites.

It is the most highly prized
salt in the region.

From April to June are

the best months to make salt.

On a good day, Jashiyongjong,
who has 16 salt pans,

can get as much as
50 kilograms of salt.

The women of Yanjing are charged
with the extra burden of

having to support their families.

22-year-old Jashiyongjong,

who became the sole
breadwinner of her family

when her father passed away, has been
making salt for over 10 years now.

I've been doing this since I was 12 years old.

My mother's legs are weak,

I've had to do this
from a young age.

My brother doesn't do
this kind of work.

This is because we have a custom
that forbids men from doing it.

During these three months, the salt
pans of Lower Yanjing are hectic.

This is because salt
can be harvested

three times a day
from one salt pan.

The white salt that
is harvested first

is called Dohwayeom,
or peach blossom salt.

The second and third harvests

are simply called the second
and third batches.

Of the three types of salt collected

in Lower Yanjing,
<50, 40 Years of Salt Pan Experience>

the white salt is called Dohwayeom,
or peach blossom salt.

It is of the highest quality
and is eaten by people.

The second batch can be
eaten and is also traded,

but it is mostly fed to
livestock nowadays.

In the past, we used to feed the
third batch to our livestock,

but we don't do that anymore.

Nowadays,
the sandy-coloured third salt

is put back in their
private ponds

to raise the salinity
of the water.

The Yanjing region is the
only salt-producing area

out of the nearby regions
of Eastern Tibet,

Northern Yunnan,
and Western Sichuan.

Approximately 500 tons
of salt are produced

in the region's 2,700
salt pans each year.

So how did saltwater get way up
in the Tibetan mountains?

Tibet, which was once under
the ocean, rose up during a

massive geological upheaval
tens of millions of years ago.

The seawater that came with it

became an underwater lake

which is accessible
from the wells here.

But the people of Yanjing
have another legend regarding

how their precious
salt came to be.

On the way to Lhasa, Tameong Xueshan,

the daughter of Meili Xueshan, stayed in Yanjing.
<74, Lower Yanjing, Naxi Dongpa High Priest>

Seeing the sick and
poor people of Yanjing,

she gave them a gold
and a silver chicken.

As the river rose, the gold rooster
on the Jiada side walked around,

and its tracks became
saltwater wells.

That's why the wells are scattered all
over Jiada, both high and low.

But the silver hen nesting in Lower Yanjing
could not move around much

because she was protecting her eggs.

That's why there are only a few wells
in the lower part of Lower Yanjing.

Many wars were waged over the past
thousand years for control of Yanjing,

so the people here have been

enslaved throughout history.

It was only 20 years ago
that they were able to own

their own salt pans thanks to
reformations in China.

Jashiyongjong is fixing
her salt pans.

All of the people working
with her are women.

There are no men around to help
even when the women perform

the difficult task of moving
earth and stone.

Do the women here have any complaints
about the men not helping make salt?

It's our traditional custom
that men can't work with the salt.

It's our responsibility to transport

the water and collect the salt.

The men only help when
we're stacking rocks

or moving gravel.

The women do all the work with
the salt and the housework,

and the men go up into the mountains to gather
firewood and conduct other business.

We have no complaints because
they also lead difficult lives.

Jashiyongjong is
an unwed mother.

She and her fiance have a child,

but they have not been able to wed yet
due to their poor financial circumstances.

Although Jashiyongjong lives
with her mother and younger

brother, it is she who is charged
with supporting the family.

Today, she is working in the barley field.

She is rebuilding the
embankments in the field.

Her brother has gone
to gather firewood.

Jashiyongjong's life as well as

the lives of the other women here
are full of hardship and turmoil.

Oh Lancang River!
I wish you would flow again.

When the river flows,
one cannot meet it again.

The flowing water of the
river will never return.

The village of Ggeora in Tibet

The village of Ggeora is surrounded by
7 mountains which are over 6,000 meters high.

It is a remote place that hasn't
been visited by anyone

since the People's Liberation Army
passed through in 1950.

The herders here use
something to lure their yaks

and goats when it's time to
milk them in the morning.

What is it?

It's red salt from Yanjing.

Animals require much more
salt than people.

This is why salt is
an indispensable item

for the nomadic peoples
of this region.

Yaks must eat red
salt from Jiada.

The salt produced in

Qinghai or by the Han people

is not as good as this salt.

You cannot replace Jiada salt
with something else.

If they eat another kind of salt,
our yaks will not grow fat

or give birth very easily,
and they will become ill.

That's why we've used salt from
Jiada throughout the generations.

Butter is made from yak's milk.

Some of it is first
offered to the gods,

and the rest is shapedf or bartering.

The men of the village

head out on a journey
herd a hundred yaks.

They make this journey
twice a year

to acquire salt and grain.

It is an arduous journey involving crossing many
mountains that are over 5,000 meters high.

The rain has changed into hail.

This is Golaraka Mountain Pass,
which is 5,000 meters above sea level.

There is no place to seek shelter here.

Although the sky is roaring
with thunder and lightning,

it doesn't even faze
this 10-year-old boy.

It's the next morning,

and it is the children who are
given the task of

gathering the horses and yaks.

We usually go to Yanjing to

trade for red salt and barley.

I have two sons,
but my younger son is smarter,

so I hope that he can support the 7
members of our family someday.

Some men have even brought
9-year-olds along.

They bring their sons along
so they can learn

how the adults trade for salt and
barley and handle the yaks.

Four days after leaving the village,

they finally arrive in Yanjing.

The herders trade their butter, which is
wrapped in leather with red salt

During the bargaining process,
the men of Yanjing

do not touch
the salt themselves

This is because the salt has been made
through the suffering of women.

In this exchange,
the herders have purchased

3 months worth of salt.

I only trade with this house
when I come to Yanjing.

My family has traded with them for generations.

The others all have homes
that they regularly trade with.

I've traded 650 kilograms of salt

and 4,000 kilograms of grain.

I'm going to come back
here next year.

The streets of Yanjing are bustling with people
who have come here to trade for salt.

The dohwayeom, or peach blossom salt of
Lower Yanjing, sells for 100 Yuan

or $12.50 per 50 kilograms,

while the red salt of Jiada sells for 40 Yuan,
or $5 per 50 kilograms.

The herders of Ggeora come
here only twice a year,

and they purchase
everything they need,

including their shoes and
fabric for their clothes.

Thanks to salt, Yanjing

has served as a center of trade

here in Eastern Tibet
since ancient times.

It's the end of July, and the
rainy season has begun.

Rain spells rest for the
women of Yanjing.

But the rising river

portends yet another
hardship for them.

The rainy season is over,

and Jashiyongjong's salt
pans are in ruins.

3 of my salt pans and my pond are ruined.

It'll take about a month
to rebuild them.

I'm going to start rebuilding
with the help of my relatives.

Other people began
collecting salt a month ago

and have sold so much.

The women in Lower
Yanjing begin working

again about two weeks later
than the woman in Jiada.

When they open the well which they had closed
for the 2 months of the rainy season,

they find that it is full of salty water.

The Naxi women of Lower Yanjing

begin transporting water again.

Jashiyongjong has begun rebuilding.

First, she digs up the red earth with
which she will pave her salt pans.

She rebuilds the pond with
the help of the other villagers

and repaves her salt pans.

Although this is an annual occurrence,

the damage is especially severe this year, and
she has even more to do than before.

Jashiyongjong's salt pans
and water pond retain

their original shape
after a week of work.

Jashiyongjong also
regains her smile.

Without the help of the others,

it would have taken her over a month
to rebuild her salt pans and pond.

It's the first harvest since
she rebuilding took place.

Since it is early in the season,
the quality of the salt is not good.

Although the harvest has come late

for Jashiyongjong, this salt is
especially precious to her.

Jashiyongjong's brother, uncle,
and fiance

load salt on the horses
and start their journey.

While it is the women's duty
to produce the salt,

it is the men's duty to trade it.

These men are going on this journey

in order to get more grain for their salt

than they would locally.

It we journey for 11 or 12 days,

we can trade for even more grain than

we would be able to get in Yanjing.

We can trade 6 horse
loads worth of salt

for 8 or 9 horse loads worth of grain

Also, we can let our horses graze
during the journey,

so we save on horse feed.

It takes two weeks
to get to Cawarong,

a land which is rich in grains.

Although they make
the journey each year

the men always find it difficult to cross
the Mudarlaka Mountain Pass,

which is 5,000 meters above sea level.

They finally arrive in Wabu, Cawarong.

Although they go from house to house,
they are not successful in bargaining.

It is not easy to trade salt.

Finally the bargaining is over.

Although the deal is not
completely satisfactory,

the terms are much better than they
would have been in Yanjing.

They are able to trade their salt for

even more grain.

We came all the way here because we

thought we could get a better deal here.

In Yanjing, they usually trade 10 parts
salt for 10 parts barley.

But here in this village, it is customary to
trade 10 parts salt for 13 parts grain.

Today, we managed 10 parts
salt for 12 parts grain.

It's winter, and the Tibetan
New Year has just passed.

Jashiyongjong's house
is bustling with activity.

This is because of her wedding.

Weddings are held over
a period of 3 days in Tibet.

Today is the first day, and an
all-night festival is being held.

Jashiyongjong busily greets guests.

It's the day before her wedding,

and she collects the salt
stalactites beneath her salt pans.

They will be used as an offering
at the New Year's

ceremony at Jokang Temple

Jokang Temple is located at the summit of

a mountain 3500 meters above sea level.

Jashiyongjong makes salt offerings,

praying for the well-being of her family

and an abundant salt harvest.

On the day of the wedding,

her relatives dress up in traditional
attire and head somewhere.

They have gone to
fetch the groom.

In contrast to the cheerful mood
in the bride's home,

the groom's home is full
of wailing and tears.

What is the reason for this?

This is because with the marriage,

the groom, Jashichuri, will become
a member of the bride's family.

He will go to live with
his bride's family

and bring them a dowry.

The groom's face is
covered on the way to

the bride's house.

He arrives at her house.

But Jashiyongjong, who has
not even made herself up,

does not even look at her groom's face,
keeping with traditional customs.

This is the final part
of the wedding.

The event comes to a close after it has been
revealed that the groom, Jashichuri,

has come to the bride's house with
a dowry consisting of

a patch of farmland and a mule.

Although Jashiyongjong works
throughout the day of the wedding,

she is still happy.

Before, I was the only person
who worked in my home,

but now there are two of us.

My life will surely improve
starting today.

I'll be better off financially and much happier.
This is what I hope for from this marriage.

But I will have to continue making salt.

Spring returns to Yanjing,

and the women get back
to their daily toils.

But if a power plant is built
on the Lancang River,

as has been rumoured for years,

the salt pans here may become
submerged underwater.

This will no doubt add

to the agonies of the women of Yanjing.

They are worried that their

salt pans may disappear.

In the future, will we still be able to see

women singing their songs
and working in the salt pans

here as they have done for a thousand years?

All the gold and silver chickens
have left in Yanjing is salt.

Let me make a wish.

Let me never have to carry
heavy buckets of water again.