The Black Tiger Spring
() is a culturally
significant
artesian
Artesian may refer to:
* Someone from the County of Artois
* Artesian aquifer, a source of water
* Artesian Builds, a former computer building company
* Artesian, South Dakota, United States
* Great Artesian Basin, Australia
* The Artesian Hotel ...
karst spring
A karst spring or karstic spring is a spring (outflow of groundwater) that is part of a karst hydrological system.
Description
Because of their often conical or inverted bowl shape, karst springs are also known in German-speaking lands as a ''Top ...
located in
the city of
Jinan
Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The spring is ranked as the second most significant among
the 72 named springs in Jinan (after the
Baotu Spring
The Baotu Spring (, sometimes translated as "Jet Spring" or "Spurting Spring") is a culturally significant artesian karst spring located in the city of Jinan, Shandong, China. It is mentioned in the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', one of the Five Cl ...
). The water
of the spring stems from moderately-deep circulation
and emerges from a water-filled limestone cave in a
steep cliff. From the mouth of the cave, the water is funneled to flow
out of the mouths of three ornamental stone-carved tiger heads into a
square-shaped spring pool. From there it runs into the old city moat,
next to which the spring is located. According to the tradition, there
was a black rock lying in front of the cave in ancient times.
[online article from www.gochinatravel.com]
The name of the spring is
said to be derived from the shape and color of the rock, which
resembled a black tiger, and the sound of the water gushing past the
rock being reminiscent of the roar of a tiger. The ancient layout of
the spring is described in a poem by the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
poet, Yan
Bizeng.
[
]
Location
The Black Tiger Spring is located on the south bank of the old city
moat, close to the southeastern corner of the moat. A bit to the east,
on the opposite site of the moat stands the Liberation Pavilion that
commemorates the arrival of the victorious People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
in Jinan.
See also
*List of sites in Jinan The following is a list of sites in Jinan. It contains sites of natural, cultural, economic, political, or historical significance in the City of Jinan, Shandong, China. The geographical area covered by this list includes all counties and districts ...
References
Bodies of water of Shandong
Springs of China
{{Shandong-geo-stub