Zigong

The "Thousand-Year Salt Capital, Home of Dinosaurs, and Lantern City of the South," where the Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival, cold-spicy rabbit and salt-merchant cuisine draw visitors from across China.

Zigong lies in southern Sichuan on the banks of the Fuxi River, about 200 km each from Chengdu and Chongqing. It is known as the "Thousand-Year Salt Capital, Home of Dinosaurs, Lantern City of the South, and Land of Gourmet Food": well-salt has been mined here for nearly 2,000 years, and the Qing-dynasty Furong Salt Field was once the largest well-salt producer in China; large numbers of Jurassic dinosaur fossils have been unearthed at Dashanpu; and the Zigong Lantern Festival is a national intangible cultural heritage. There are three main themes to visit. First, the salt culture route: Xiqin Guildhall (the Salt History Museum), Wangye Temple, the Fuxi riverside and Shenhai Well, concentrated in Ziliujing and Da'an districts, 1 day. Second, the dinosaur route: Zigong Dinosaur Museum and the neighboring Fantawild Dinosaur Kingdom, great for families, 1 day. Third, the lantern route: the China Lantern World night tour around the Spring Festival, plus the Lantern Park and China Lantern Museum in the city center. Xianshi Ancient Town (a salt-transport town about 15 km southeast of the city) makes a good half-day extension. Best time: the lantern festival period from late January to March (the 32nd festival was lit on January 24, 2026; ticket prices are highest during the Spring Festival, so check that year's announcements); spring and autumn have pleasant weather; summers are muggy. Getting there: Zigong Station on the Chengdu–Zigong–Yibin high-speed railway is about 1 hour from Chengdu East, and Chongqing can be reached with a change at Neijiang; Zigong Fengming Airport has a few flights. We suggest 2–3 days. Food is a main event: salt-merchant cuisine emphasizes "numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant and piping hot," and cold-spicy rabbit, huobianzi beef, Fushun tofu pudding, fresh-pot rabbit and "diving frog" are all worth trying; salt-merchant restaurants and night markets are concentrated in Ziliujing District. Notes: crowds at night are enormous during the lantern festival, so buy tickets in advance, avoid the peak from Lunar New Year's Eve to the seventh day of the new year, and take buses or ride-hailing there.

Top sights

• Zigong Chinese Lantern World – The main venue of the Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival. Hundreds of giant lanterns and dinosaur installations fill the park…
• Zigong Dinosaur Museum – A world-class dinosaur museum built on the site of the Dashanpu dinosaur fossil field. The Fossil Burial Hall displays Jurassic dinosaur sk…
• Shenhai Salt Well – The world's first man-made well deeper than 1,000 metres, drilled in 1835. It still produces brine and makes salt using traditional methods…
• Xiqin Guild Hall (Zigong Salt Industry History Museum) – A guild hall built in the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty by Shaanxi salt merchants, with upturned eaves and exquisite wood and stone carv…
• Wangye Temple – A Qing-dynasty salt-trade temple built on a boulder by the Fuxi River, with its opera stage projecting over the water. Salt merchants and b…
• Fantawild Dinosaur Kingdom – A large dinosaur-themed park next to the Dinosaur Museum, with dark rides, 4D cinemas and live shows. It suits families with children.
• Zigong Lantern Park & China Lantern Museum – The old lantern festival venue in downtown Zigong. The park's China Lantern Museum is the country's only museum devoted to lanterns, where…
• Xianshi Ancient Town – A thousand-year-old salt-trade town on the bank of the Fuxi River, with well-preserved stone lanes, guild halls, temples and riverside stil…
• Huanhou Palace – A temple to Zhang Fei built by Ziliujing's butchers' guild, with exquisite stage and wood-and-stone carvings. It is a flagship of the trade…
• Jiang Jie's Hometown – The birthplace of Jiang Zhuyun, the heroine of Red Crag. Her former home and memorial hall present her life and the underground struggle in…
• Sanduozhai Fortress – A hilltop stronghold built by late-Qing salt merchants to shelter from unrest. Its gates, walls and merchant residence remains reflect the…
• Niufo Ancient Town – A river-port town on the Tuo River in southern Sichuan, with old streets, a ferry crossing and traditional market days that keep a strong l…
• Aiye Ancient Town – A salt-trade town on the Xushui River in Gongjing District. Its rebuilt old street, wharf and water-wheel shoals suit a half-day stroll.
• Fushun Confucian Temple – A county-level Confucian temple first built in the Northern Song dynasty, grand in scale and rich in fine stone carvings, often hailed as o…
• Rongxian Giant Buddha – A Tang-dynasty Maitreya seated Buddha carved into a cliff, about 37 metres tall. Second only to the Leshan Giant Buddha in scale, it is kno…

Where to eat

• 105 Pork Intestine House – Old Yanbang-cuisine restaurant beside the former 105 workshop of Dongguo. Its crispy pork intestines often sell out bef…

Itineraries

• Southern Sichuan: Salt, Bamboo & Liquor – A low-altitude self-drive loop covering Zigong's dinosaurs and salt history, Lijiang Ancient Town, Shunan Bamboo Sea, a…