Heijin Ancient Town is located in the northwest of Lufeng County, Chuxiong Prefecture, 200 kilometers from Kunming or 75 kilometers from Chuxiong Town.

Heijin has a long history. The unearthed relics of stones, potteries, and bronze wares have proved that as early as 3,200 years ago, ancestors of some minority groups already worked and multiplied on this land. It’s recorded in the “Annals of Heijin” that, a local farmer lost his cattle when grazing on the mountain, he finally found his black cattle near a well; but to his surprise, when it lipped the soil around the well, salt appeared; thus in order to memorize the black well, the place was nicknamed as “Heiniu Yanjin” which means the black cattle and the salt well. It’s shortly referred as Heijin afterwards.

During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, 56 temple and nunneries, 5 Literacy Towers were built, and steles of high historic and artistic values have been maintained. With traditional folk residences, archways, and religion architectures, Hejin is well conserved in a traditional profile as others do in China. It covers 21 spots of relics under protection, and thus is the most famous town of relics in Chuxiong Prefecture. Undergoing challenges for thousands of years, Hejin still astonishes many with its primitive outline and features.

The sunrise tours to explore folk cultures just fall on Heijin for those who prefer to take a tranquil and hermit life from the bustle and hustle world. So far, Heijin has become an AA scenic attraction and one of the most charming towns of China.

China's Ministry of Construction and the Bureau of Cultural Relics unveiled 34 National Famous Historical and Cultural Towns and 24 National Famous Cultural Villages. Hei Jin Town was found on this prestigious list, and became the only town in Yunnan that was listed. The Hei Jin town, or Black Well in English, is drawing favorable attention from all over in recent years because of its ancient and tranquil atmosphere.

People believe that this place can be traced back more than 4000 years. There is a legend which goes like this:  Once there was a Yi girl. Looking for her missing ox, she was led to the Black Well and found the spring water the ox was licking contained a large amount of salt. Hence the site was called the Black Ox Salt Well, and later on only Black Well for short. Ever since, the residents here made their living by producing salt. Throughout history, Black Well had always been one of the chief salt production centers in Yunnan province.

It was because of the salt that Hei Jin had become a well-known place. Its economics thrived; it became a trading hub luring people from different areas. Central mainland Chinese cultures and frontier ethnic cultures merged here. It became a cultural kaleidoscope representing diverse historical relics, ethnic cultures, architectural cultures, religious cultures, and cuisine which probably can be seen nowhere else.

Now, the Black Well has long lost her glory of being the predominant salt provider of Yunnan province. However, there are streets and alleys that still maintain a touch of the Tang and Song dynasties. The residential architecture, stone inscriptions, carvings, towers, dolmens, performance stages, temples, and salt well are well preserved from the Ming and Qing dynasties three to four hundred years ago. The Grand Courtyard of the Wu Family especially represents the perfectly preserved typical architectures of the Ming and Qing dynasties. People are drawn here from all over China as well as around the world.

Unlike the Lijiang Ancient Town with bridges and streams scatted all over in an  orderly manner, the Black Well old town, which is less known, presents itself with an atmosphere of tranquility and slowness, bringing you back in history and escaping from this busy, bustling world.

Lufeng County is on the Long Chuan River 92 KM (57 miles) from Lufeng County proper in Chuxiang Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and 200 KM (124 miles) from Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan. With the Chengdu-Kunming railway and the LongChuan River passing through the town, it can be accessed easily.