Chinese families in industrial city enjoy a 'healthy' public SALT bath rather than the beach to avoid pollution

Salt is thought to kill bacteria and keep skin looking young and healthy
Safer alternative to children playing in contaminated earth in Wenling

PUBLISHED: 11:37 EST, 25 July 2013 | UPDATED: 11:55 EST, 25 July 2013

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Families in China have found a 'healthier' alternative to taking their children to play at the beach - bringing them to a public 'salt bath'.

Scores of families were pictured playing in 20 tons of raw salt that has been brought into a specially-built series of shallow pools in Wenling, in Zhejiang Province.

The salt is believed to help kill bacteria and make skin look younger and more healthy.

Relaxing: People enjoy a salt bath in Wenling, Zhejiang Province, China

Benefits: The raw salt is believed to kill bacteria and make skin appear youthful

There may be additional reasons why parents in the coastal city would prefer their children to play indoors.

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Wenling is home to a number of electronic waste recycling centres which have caused the earth to become contaminated with dangerous heavy metals and persistent organic compounds.

The contamination means humans in the region could be exposed to lead, mercury and arsenic, among other dangerous substances.

Public bath: 20 tons of raw salt have been brought into this public 'bathing' area in Wenling, China

Healing: The belief in salt's health benefits goes back to the time of the Ancient Greeks

However sea salt has been used as a healing substance since the time of the Ancient Greeks, when Hippocrates noticed fishermen who soaked their cuts in seawater were more likely to heal swiftly.

Studies in the 1980s showed patients with joint problems, skin complaints and problems sleeping all benefited from bathing in sea salt.

It is believed the salt helps restore the body's mineral balance when it is absorbed through the skin.

Potassium in salt helps skin look healthy and boosts energy levels, while sodium helps keep the immune system healthy. Salt also contains bromides which help muscles relax and heal.

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Comments (5)

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Chinese are a strange people. I would only go to China if you paid me.

- annette , Los Angeles California, 26/7/2013 05:07

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Wierd

- weknow , Reston, USA, 26/7/2013 03:13

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lu2018 , london;....... "Always roll my eyes when I see them in London with their little pollution masks on. I've lived here 25 years and I've been alright without one!"............ They do that here in the states also. It really makes me laugh. It seems like all these emerging diseases ,like SARS, Bird Flu, and the recent H7N9 and H5N1 end up coming from THERE, and yet they're wearing their masks HERE. Not to mention that vast pollution problems they have which are mentioned in the article, and which are strictly controlled here. You feel like going up to them and saying, "It's OK. You're safe now. You can take off your masks."

- Resident , somewhere in America, 25/7/2013 21:40

Click to rate Rating 22

That actually looks like it would be a lot of fun.

- Madeleine , Southern California, United States, 25/7/2013 20:53

Click to rate Rating 23

Always roll my eyes when I see them in London with their little pollution masks on. I've lived here 25 years and I've been alright without one!

- lu2018 , london, United Kingdom, 25/7/2013 18:49

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