The Yanhu (Salt Lake) District is the part of Yuncheng city that directly borders the lake, and the name — literally "salt lake district" — reflects the centuries when the lake was the city's reason for existing. The waterfront area has been developed as a promenade and park, with views across the salt pans toward the coloured water visible in summer. The residential streets behind the promenade have a lived-in quality that the more developed tourist areas lack, and the morning market near the old salt trade warehouses is a good place to eat breakfast.
The district also contains the Yuncheng Salt Lake Museum, which documents the history of salt production and the lake's role in the pre-modern Chinese economy. The museum is modest but provides context for understanding why this unremarkable-looking body of water was one of the most economically significant places in ancient China.