Salty land

The sun-drenched, windswept central region of Vietnam not only leaves a lasting impression on travelers with its serene blue beaches, white sands, and fishing villages teeming with fish from the open sea, but also with its salt fields, bearing the essence of the ocean. There's Phuong Cuu in Ninh Thuan, with its vast, sprawling salt fields, sometimes blanketing the entire area in white as the salt begins to crystallize. Or the Hon Khoi salt fields in Khanh Hoa , with their conical mounds of salt neatly arranged in rows by the locals, as simple and unassuming as the landscape itself.

Ninh Thuan has a coastline stretching over 105km, with high salinity seawater, high solar radiation, abundant sunshine, and strong winds, creating ideal conditions for salt production.

Due to the hot and dry climate year-round, seawater evaporates and crystallizes into grains more quickly, which is why Ninh Thuan salt is famous for its large, dry grains.

Salt production in Ninh Thuan has a tradition spanning hundreds of years. Currently, Ninh Thuan is one of the 19 coastal provinces with the largest area and production of salt in the country. It is also known as the salt capital of the South.

Salt production in Ninh Thuan is mainly concentrated in Phuong Hai, Tri Hai, and Nhon Hai communes (Ninh Hai district); and Ca Na, Phuoc Diem, and Phuoc Minh communes (Thuan Nam district).

This is one of the most arduous tasks for salt farmers; the process of creating those sparkling white salt crystals is not easy at all, but is steeped in the hardships of coastal fishermen.

Like salt farmers in other regions, people in Ninh Thuan make salt using the traditional method: at the beginning of the season, they level and compact the salt fields to create a "skin layer," then pump seawater into the fields, wait for the seawater to evaporate for about a week, and then rake the salt.

And so, after the first batch is finished, they pump in seawater again, wait for the water to evaporate, and harvest the salt. This regular work only stops temporarily when it rains or storms. A salt-making day for the salt farmers begins early in the morning. First, they prepare the land, soaking the sand with seawater, then leveling the sand, drying it on the fields, and sprinkling seawater onto the drying area, and finally sprinkling starter salt.

When the sand dries, tiny salt crystals form on each grain. The sunnier the weather, the faster the salt crystallizes. The scorching sun, however, is a blessing from nature, helping salt farmers achieve a bountiful harvest, resulting in even whiter, purer salt crystals.

Heritage Magazine