Qing china's salt supply was widely dispersed, although more than four-fifths of the salt produced came from the seacoast. There were six sources of salt: seawater, salt lakes, brine wells, saline rock, gypsum mines and salty earth. Boiling and solar evaporation were the major production methods. The simplicity of the boiling method favored its wide use. Nevertheless, the solar evaporation eventually took the place of the boiling method, as fuels became scarcer in most salt-producing areas. A better natural resource base stimulated the production of salt along the North China seacoast to a greater extent than elsewhere in the nation, The increasing trend of salt production paralleled China's population growth. Geographical changes in salt production also reflected regional differences in this growth.