Chaka's salt has been harvested continuously for over three thousand years, making it one of the oldest working salt operations in China. The lake holds an estimated 600 million tonnes of sodium chloride — enough to supply all of China for decades — and production continues alongside the tourist economy. The extraction equipment is visible from the shore and in some areas from the walking paths across the flat: rusty derricks, processing sheds, and the narrow-gauge railway tracks that originally served the mine before being repurposed as tourist transport.
The industrial history sits comfortably alongside the scenic spectacle — in a way it adds to it, giving the landscape a slightly melancholy, post-industrial quality that balances the photogenic reflections. The mine office has some display materials (in Chinese) about the history of salt production in the region. Salt purchasing opportunities — including bags of Chaka salt, which is sold throughout China — are available near the exit.